The Woods
By SpaceWonder368
Author's Note: Just yet another random drabble, and this one is after the events of the show. First time writing an Over The Garden Walls fanfic. I felt like writing these two, and plus, I like writing post-canon stuff like this. Please excuse Wirt's poetry at the beginning. Poetry isn't my greatest strength in writing. Thanks for reading!
" Still as a river… streaming through a consciousness of a lost cause. Stiff and slow, I wonder so… where would I go? What would be there I await for? It's endless… endless as far as I can see light. Light will shine a beacon of hope… but it'll die out in my lantern. Darkness… darkness will plague my mind as nothing more but a death-defying disease… and the haunting creature…. with his claws out… will come reaching for me…."
The autumn winds blast through the auburn, orange, and yellow leaves that cling on the trees… along with the chirping of birds. Blue birds. The two brothers could be reminded of Beatrice… and yet they can somehow visit her again… someday. With encouragement, Greg places a teapot on his head once again, yanking his older brother through the woods.
"C'mon Wirt! You don't want to miss out on all the fun!"
The fun? Wirt can't be too sure of that… no… he can't be sure of that at all. Once again, he's in his gnome costume, fidgeting with the buttons on his civil war cape. Everything could be fine… everything will be fine, he wanted to believe… but how can be so sure? The next time they wandered off… bad things happened. He surely doesn't want that to happen again.
"Uhhh…. Greg? Where are we going?"
They defeated the beast (more precisely the Woodsman did), so why should he be so cautious? So nervous? So jittery? He wants to make sure… just to make sure. He doesn't know what could be lurking around in these woods… Greg and him don't know.
"We're going to meet Beatrice!"
How can that be…? Is this a dream then? It doesn't feel any different. Wirt recalled leaving the house with his brother not too long ago… so how could they be dragged to the Unknown? The trees creeks by the winds, having his heart skip a beat. There are no faces on them… they should be okay. But… how? How can they be?
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shakes his head. "I-I don't think it works that way, Greg…"
The Unknown might as well be purgatory. When he opened his eyes, he found that they were in a lake, near death. They could have died… and that would have been it. There could have been worse ways… even concerning the… Beast.
His fingers twitch, feeling the need to carry a lantern… but he knew it's too bright out to carry one. He doesn't need to… but the sensation of having its handle wrapped up in his fingers feels so… assuring. He might never know when those big, bulging, multi-colored eyes will show up.
"Are you ready to see true darkness?"
"Are you?"
I shouldn't be afraid of the Beast anymore. He figured. He knew what the weakness of the Beast was, and it was vanquished… so why be afraid? Why should he be afraid? There's nothing to be afraid about.. nothing at all.
Cautiously, he observes the woods, while his brother is joyfully walking around…. but to where exactly? Where is he going? And why? To meet Beatrice? But… he couldn't possibly be…? Swiftly, he picks his younger brother up in his arms, away from the cold lake that step right in his vision.
"Greg, don't go in there!" he shouts with warning, worry striking in his tone.
"But why? I just want to meet Beatrice!" Dangit, the kid's innocent. Wirt knows that all too well.
"Why don't we go trick-or-treating?" The gnome-wearing teen suggests, trying to further change the subject. His heart pummels against his chest with the racket of it echoing in his ears. Please don't go in… please don't go in.
The confusion could be shown in Greg's face… as he can see the possible fright in his brother's eyes. He doesn't know what exactly happened with his sibling's encounter with the Beast, but he can tell it wasn't pretty.
"What's the matter?"
Oh no. That's what Wirt didn't want. He didn't want his brother to question him… but he has to answer eventually. He's going to have to. "Nothing's wrong… just…" He places Greg down, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's head back… you don't want to miss getting all the free candy, do you?"
Greg has his hands on his hips, tilting his head to the side. "Why are you afraid of going back there? Why are you afraid of the woods?"
And the plot thickens. "Uh, Greg! Can we talk about this at another time?"
"Is it the Beast?"
The question has Wirt feeling as if something caught his throat, preventing him to speak. How should he put this? Yes? No? He has to be honest with him… no excuses allowed. With a deep sigh, he nods. "Yes… it's the Beast."
He didn't expect his brother to immediately give him a hug, but it's… soothing. It's comforting. His anxiety begins to wash away and he forgets why he was even feeling that way in the first place.
"The Beast is gone, Wirt…. it can't hurt us anymore…"
He's right… there's no way the Beast can hurt anyone anymore. Everything's going to be just fine. Everything.
"…Yeah… it's gone. C'mon, let's go…"
The brothers' head far from the lake that started their journey on last year's Halloween. Everything's going to be just fine.
"Wirt… will we ever be able to go back in the Unknown?"
"Someday, Greg… someday…."