Chapter 1: Gregory Funderburker
It was just a normal, sunny day in the Unknown one day. The birds were chirping, the trees were swaying and the leaves were being tossed around by the wind. Nearby, there was a huge cabin filled with comfy furniture, a kitchen with a huge table and a huge backyard with tons of activities for kids to play with, which was what was happening at that very moment.
The cabin belonged to the Funderburkers. The Funderburkers are a family of frogs who live in the Unknown. The family consisted of Mama Funderburker, Papa Funderburker, Auntie, Uncle, Grandma, Grandpa, and many, many children roamed through the house. One child however, was different from the others. He was different, because he was not a frog like the rest of his family, he was human.
Gregory, or Greg as everyone called him, was a little plump boy with brown hair.
His life wasn't always easy. His parents died when he was just a baby, and his brother mysteriously disappeared one day, and no one knows what happened to him. The only thing the little boy had of his human family was half of a locket that contained a picture of his older brother. In the picture, his brother was a tall boy with a scarecrow like nose and messy brown hair. The only detail he remembered about his brother was that his name was Wirt, and that's all he knew. He had little to no information about his parents, though.
Even though he had a rough past, Greg was a kid who loved to sing and have fun. He loved to make up songs and sing them all the time. He was on very good terms with his frog siblings, and they all got along just fine. Half of his siblings had the ability to talk and half of them didn't. The ones, who could talk, however, taught Greg things that he could use when he grows up and goes out into the world.
His brother, Anthony, taught him some words and phrases in Japanese, while Greg's sister, Mirabelle taught him some words and phrases in Chinese. Bradley taught him how to say some things in French, and Allison taught him how to speak the basics in Vietnamese. Greg could now speak French, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian, and English, being his first and main language.
He didn't mind learning a bunch of different languages, in fact, he would love to learn new things to help him better communicate with the world. Many of Greg's frog brothers and sisters were currently playing outside in the backyard.
"Alright everyone, it's time to come inside." Mama Funderburker said as she stood on the back porch, watching the children. The sun was setting, and after dark was not a good place for children with The Beast around. Greg joined his frog mother on the back porch. "But mom!" whined Jeffry, one of the younger frogs "We want to see the Pilgrim of the Night." "Yeah" said another frog, Tamara. "He's so cool."
Their mother chuckled. "Well if you go inside and get ready for bed, you can have some cookies from the oven." Immediately, the frogs ran inside the house, almost running their human brother over. "Whoa" Greg said as he almost fell, but he was caught by his frog mother. "Thanks Mama Funderburker, I almost fell down." His mother smiled. "You're welcome, Gregory." Greg smiled up at his mother and the two made their way inside the house.
The Pilgrim of the Night was incredibly legendary in the Unknown. He was known as a crime fighter, always bringing justice to people who deserved it, but he only did that at night and he was always hidden in the shadows, so no one knew what he looked like. He had incredible fighting skills though, and he was feared by criminals everywhere. Greg really looked up to him and thought that he wanted to be like him someday.
The little boy walked into the kitchen, and saw his frog siblings munching away on some cookies. Greg wasn't all that hungry, so he decided to head to his room. The hallway was really long and narrow as the house was so big. He opened the door to his bedroom, which contained a window, two beds, and a desk. In one of the beds, was Greg's brother and roommate Jason, fast asleep. Greg smiled at the sight. Jason always had a thing for going to bed early.
Jason Funderburker was a…rare case. He could communicate, but not by talking. The frog had a very beautiful voice when he sang. He was adored by his family and anyone who heard his mellifluous voice. Greg smiled and kissed his frog brother on the forehead. Jason croaked in his sleep. Greg giggled and was about to get into bed, when he heard something tapping on his window.
"Huh?" the little boy asked. He walked over to the window, and when he pulled the curtain back, he saw a little bluebird pecking at his window. "Awww" the boy said. He opened the window to get a better look at the bird. "What are you doing here?" he asked. The bird was silent. It just sat there staring at him. "My name is Greg, what's yours?"
He received no response from the blue bird that just continued to stare at him. "Oh you can't talk? I understand." The bird stared at him a second before flying off. Greg stuck his head out the window. "It was nice to meet you!" he yelled after it. Greg stared at the direction the bird flew, than sighed. All that yelling and talking had woken Jason up. The frog croaked. Greg turned and saw that his roommate was awake.
"Oh, I'm sorry Jason, I was just talking to that little blue bird out there." The frog croaked again. Greg, then remembered something very important. "Wait a second, before you go back to sleep, did you remember to get…" Greg looked around the room, then opened the bedroom door and looked both ways to make sure no one was around to listen. He then shut the door and went back over to Jason with his eyes all shiny. "Did you get…the stuff?" The little boy whispered the last part.
Jason smiled and pulled something out from underneath his pillows. He had a bag of gingerbread cookies, smuggled directly from Mama Funderburker. There was a lot more to Jason than just singing.
"Aww, yeah!" Greg said, excited. The two continued to munch on cookies, careful not to talk loud enough to wake up anyone trying to sleep. The two continued to eat, until they heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Greg quietly panicked.
"Ah, quick, Mama Funderburkers' coming, act like you've been asleep." Greg and Jason scattered ad hopped into bed. When Mama Funderburker opened the door, she saw Jason and Greg, fast asleep in their beds. She smiled and silently closed the door to the bedroom. The two waited until she was gone, then the two opened their eyes and continued to eat cookies.
The same blue bird that greeted Greg at his window earlier, was flying through the darkness of the Unknown. The only thing to guide it through the night sky, was the shining full moon. The blue bird continued to fly, until it reached its destination. It landed on a rock that sat near a cliff. The view from the cliff at night was beautiful. It didn't notice as a shadowy figure stood next to it.
"Did you find him?" the figure asked. The blue bird looked up from its thoughts and spoke. "Yes, I found him" The bird said in a female voice.
"How is he doing?" the figure asked the bird. "He seems to be doing just fine." The blue bird answered. "Good. I wouldn't want anything happening to him." The blue bird sighed and continued to look at the scenery, when the figure spoke again.
"Um, that reminds me, I kind of got into some trouble, would you mind helping bail me out?" The bird sighed and face-winged herself, than looked back up at the figure with a smile. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" The figure didn't respond. "Fine, let's go." The bird and the shadowed figure continued to walk and fly through the woods, headed towards their destination, while back at the cabin, Little Gregory and his frog brother, Jason, were already sound asleep.