“Everyone has a bit of darkness in them.
It’s only when we feed that darkness that it becomes a problem.
Even a chicken bone thrown to it in curiosity can give it unimaginable strength and life.” Ryker Axel Porter
Nickname: Jaguar. Or Luck, if too lazy for Jaguar. In the past five years, he was really only known by these thanks to Pan and his affinity for nicknames. He gained them because of the black jaguar skin he wore during the cold months, and that he always seemed to have and bring a great amount of luck bordering on supernatural. He is still not used to being called or calling himself Ryker again.
Birthday: February 29th, 2000
Gender: Male
Age: According to Earth, almost 18. According to Neverland, around twenty. Physically, 15. Mentally, you would not guess he aged a day. One does not age in Neverland, the time there is a bit wonky compared to Earth’s, and he never had any reason to even remotely “grow up.”
Parental Involvement: Obsessively active. When he first went missing, his face was plastered everywhere, and now that he is back, they are willing to do whatever is necessary to get him to return to “normal” so he can live a “happy, normal life” free of Neverland “delusions.”
Appearance: Ryker has a strong face, with a slightly pointed chin, and an even pointer nose. Over the past few years, his ears have even gained a slight point to them because of his exposure to fairy magic, making him look elfish, which is one of many things that got filed away under something that must have been caused by his abductors. He is rather tan from spending hours in the sun, and his eyes are a pale green, which deepen as far as black as his mood and emotions darkens. His black hair is always messy, but mostly because he refuses to brush it, and he has not cut it in a long while. The last time he did cut it, it came out horribly uneven; daggers are not the easiest things to cut hair with, especially without a mirror. Though once plain black, it now has a faint pearlescent sheen that shines in the right light from spending too much time around fairy dust. He also has various scars from innumerous misadventures. Clothes-wise, whenever it is not too cold, he favors a simple pair of shorts and going shirtless. Back on Earth, he’s substituted his jaguar pelt for a black hoodie two sizes too large that he wears whenever going shirtless is not permitted or is otherwise inappropriate.
Item: A pendant. A prism crystal, its outside glitters in a rainbow hue of colors, giving it the appearance of the clearest diamond to grace Earth. But in its hollow innards, glowing emerald sand swirls around, twisting and curling to its own rhythm. The rare green fairy dust, it is the only thing right now keeping the Darkness in him at bay. Were it to break or be removed for long, one of two things would happen: either he would grow deathly ill as his body was forced to fight the Darkness on its own, ultimately leading to falling comatose, or, more likely than not, he would go slowly insane until the Darkness consumed him, body, mind, and soul. With the rules different in Earth than Neverland, what the latter would mean for him on Earth is anyone’s guess.
Compass: Nonsense 1, Wicked 1.
Personality: Ryker is an adventurous soul who has always sought after nearly anything that brought a sense of freedom. Before finding his “door,” he was mostly capable of hiding behind a content façade. He has never felt quite right in society, always hated the thought of growing up, of being stuck behind a desk, of conformity. Now, his is openly reckless, willing to push his luck to the limit, and try just about anything. After spending so long with few—if any—rules, he has a major disregard for them, and strives to break them. He longs to be capable of flying again—an ability that left him once forced from Neverland—and be his own master. Because of the Darkness lurking inside him, he is also prone to anger and hatred, often in quick, yet fierce bouts, being vindictive, and even occasionally cruelly playful. Despite his mistakes, he is willing to do whatever it takes to be capable of returning to Neverland, and to regain the freedom he felt there.
A Kinda-Not-Really Short History: Adopted as an infant, Ryker grew up with overprotective parents. They were nice enough, sure, but they did everything in their power to make sure that nothing bad ever happened to him. Which, really, meant practically
nothing ever happened to him. They were always there, whether he wanted them or not, preventing him from doing anything ever really fun. They were obsessed with seeing him succeed academically, not caring what he wanted for himself, his protests always brushed off.
He often wondered which would be worse: them, or parents who did not give a crap.
He tended to play the good little boy for them, but, as he grew older, he began sneaking out. He
had to get away from them. Every cell in his being longed for adventure. He wanted to run free, to do as he pleased and not be bound by the rules of society—or, rather, his parents.
When he was fifteen, he made a life-changing decision: he was going to go and make his own adventure, whether his parents liked it or not. Break some bones and get some scars. Make his own darned decisions for once.
So, he filled his backpack with what he thought he would need, and snuck out when he was sure his parents were asleep, leaving any intention to return far behind. Everything seemed to line up perfectly: his backpack was just the right size, the weather was fair, his parents fell asleep early, and there was even a blackout, allowing him to go unseen through his neighborhood.
That night while nearing the edge of the city, he stopped to rest and encountered a few fairies (that’s right. Not Peter Pan.
Fairies). Instead of flying to the “second star to the right, and straight on ‘till morning,” he tumbled through a portal they made hidden behind a dumpster. Because apparently, he was supposed to be “the one” to save Neverland from the Darkness brewing beneath it.
With over a hundred years since the first documentation of Neverland passing, the world—Never-Never, as most of its denizens call it—was not quite what it once was. Captain Hook? Consumed by the powers of the Darkness, and wreaking havoc as ever with his shadowy crew on a frightening level. The Indians? Divided, some cannibals, others docile. The Lost Boys? Pretty much the mischievous boys one would expect. The fairies? Widespread and probably the lightest, most good-natured creatures in Never-Never.
Ryker quickly befriended the famous Peter Pan, becoming the ageless boy’s right-hand man. For nearly five years, the two got into and out of trouble. They laughed, they fought monsters and pirates, taunted Indians and other people who had found a home in Never-Never, and frequented the fairies’ domain. In Never-Never, he even discovered he could both fly and, so long as his fairy companion, Fairfara, was not too far behind, even had some simple magic abilities.
For the first time in his life, he felt truly and wondrously
free. Pan and the Lost Boys became his brothers, and the only family he needed. They watched out for each other, sure, but there was no one breathing down his neck, expecting things from him that he had no desire to give. Though the reason for his coming there lurked at the back of his mind, occasionally reminding him of his purpose, he never saw a reason to rush it. Even Pan did not seem very worried about the Darkness. Though, nothing seemed to worry Pan, so that is not saying much.
To try to keep a rather long story short, for five glorious years, he was
home. But then, through a course of events, Pan decided he wanted to see for himself what was so bad about the Darkness. It did not take much to convince Ryker to join him and satisfy both their curiosity. In the end, it led him to make the worst decision of his life yet.
Ultimately, a seed of Darkness planted and grew in Ryker, eating him from the inside out. In an attempt to save his life, Fairfara and a few other fairies did the only thing they could: they gave him a talisman with some of the most powerful fairy dust to help keep the Darkness subdued, and forced him back to Earth, hoping the Darkness could not survive long outside of Never-Never. Though, “not long” is a relatively loose term to immortal creatures.
To his horror, Ryker found himself stumbling around the same alleyway he had disappeared through so many years past, with no idea what had become of his brother, Pan. He was quickly picked up by the police—panther pelt and all—and returned to his parents. With three years passing on Earth, they were overjoyed to have him back after so long.
Ryker barely lasted the first week back. His parents refused to let him out of their sight, no matter how he lashed out at them. His answers to where he had been where not taken well, and appointments were made immediately for him to see a psychologist. After all, it just wasn’t right. Whatever ordeal he had been through, it had scrambled his brain worse than the couple had feared. People in their right mind did not think they went to Neverland, or act as he did now. Though he had never been exactly quiet, scarcely a day went by without a shouting match. Or twelve.
He only just managed to convince his parents to leave him alone long enough to use the bathroom and sleep. Each night, he slipped away, desperately searching for some way to return to Never-Never, to prove that he could keep the Darkness he felt inside himself in check, and defeat it as the fairies had hoped. If he did not find a way back to his true home, he was certain he would either go insane, or die.
When his parents discovered he had been sneaking out, they tightened their security. He was being suffocated from inside his own home. Being inside was bad enough. Being indoors with
them was even worse.
Three weeks (and four unsuccessful therapy sessions) later, his parents found out about a school that specialized in odd cases like his. Though he retaliated, he was ultimately forced to concede.
Packing just enough to satisfy his parents, they headed on a long car ride that felt like it took an eternity. Though, he hoped he would not have to be there long, and either he would find Never-Never again, or it would find him. After all, if he still had as good of luck as he did in Never-Never, then there was every possibility he would find another way back to his home.
But only time will tell if his luck has, at long last, run out.
