"...Albert Salami, Giggly Jumping Tom Thomas Tamborine, Legface..."
The frog wasn't really paying attention to the younger one's name suggestions. He still didn't believe a name was really needed. Besides, he was the only frog here. In fact, one thing he never understood about humans was why they had to call each other names. Every one of them looked different, so why bother labeling?
Suddenly, the older human interrupted the child's naming.
"Wait, wait a sec… uhh, Greg… Where… are we?"
That was a good point. The frog had never been to the woods before. Was there even a forest near his home? He couldn't seem to remember. Normally, he would probably panic when he found himself in situations like these, but for some reason, he felt strangely calm.
The child also seemed to take it really well. The teenager seemed to be the only one who was scared. He watched as the two… brothers-he's going to assume they were brothers-exchanged dialog and-ugh, why did the child have to lean on his face? Luckily, the child quickly noticed and took his hand off of his head.
In the midst of their talk, the teenager suddenly broke out into poetry, and a melodramatic one at that. Something about a "lost love." Yeesh. As much as he loved singing, he had never broke out into song at random times.
The teenager was interrupted by distant chopping sounds, and his poetry was replaced by the imagining of a horrific scenario.
"Doyouthinkit'ssomekindofderangedlunaticwithanaxewaitingoutthereinthedarknessforinnocentvictims?"
Well, whether or not there was, the frog was about to find out soon enough. The young boy holding him dashed through the forest without glancing back at his brother. He stopped at a large tree trunk and looked over its roots. A man past his middle ages was chopping branches off a tree and idly humming a song. A brightly lit lantern stood by his side.
The tree in question greatly perturbed the frog. Oil leaked out of its holes, and the holes looked uncomfortably like a face, and not a happy one at that.
The older brother had caught up with them, whispering furiously about how the younger one was going to get them into trouble, but his attention was quickly diverted by the humming woodsman.
"We should ask him for help," the younger brother suggested.
"No, we should not ask him for help."
"But-"
"SHH!"
"You shush!"
The two brothers proceeded to get into a shushing war.
The frog, at least, thought that it wouldn't hurt much to ask him. The man looked harmless enough, despite the fact that he was chopping what seemed to be a crying tree. He wondered if it cried because it was being chopped and essentially killed, but that idea seemed ridiculous and far-fetched. Then again, so were his dreams.
Before a decision was made (they were both too busy shushing each other), the woodsman had picked up his sticks and left the area. Their only chance of help seemed to be gone.
"Shoot, you think we should have asked him for help?"
Oh, now you decide that you should ask him, the frog thought sarcastically. Before he could add in an annoyed ribbit, someone else spoke out.
"Maybe I can help you."
All three turned to where the sudden voice came from. The frog's eyes almost popped out of his head. The voice seemed to have come from a nearby branch, but the only thing standing on the branch was a bluebird. Was that bluebird talking like a human?
"I mean, you guys are lost, right?"
The teenager was having trouble comprehending a talking bird; the child took it in stride, as he seemed to be doing with everything that was out of the ordinary, and was busy putting candy all over the place, including a turtle and his brother's cape. The frog, though also weirded out, felt more envious than confused. How was that bird able to talk fluent human language so easily? He had never heard the birds around his home talk. Maybe they all did so in secret?
"...a bird's brain isn't big enough for cognisant speech."
That's what the frog had thought, too.
The bluebird, meanwhile, was offended with the older brother's comment, and the teenager did not help matters by calling the bird an "it." She seemed to be an easily offended bird. The frog could understand why the brain part could be offensive, but humans called animals "it" all the time, she should just get used to it.
"What are you doing here?!"
The woodsman had suddenly popped out from the darkness, startling the three of them and scaring the bluebird away.
"Calm-calm down mister. W-whatever you do here is your business. W-we just want to get home with all of our legs and arms attached," the teenager stuttered, frightened.
"These woods are not a place for children! Don't you know the Beast is afoot here?"
Beast? Like, a raccoon? All frogs generally considered them to be beasts.
"The Beast? W-w-we don't know anything about that. W-w-w-we're just two lost kids tryin' to get home!"
"Well, welcome to The Unknown, boys. You're more lost than you realize."
That didn't sound good. For once, the frog felt a sense of urgency. What if he didn't come back home by spring, and his mother woke up to him missing? Would she think he was eaten by predators? Accidentally slept in quicksand? Left to pursue his independent life? He couldn't imagine how she would react.
The woodsman took them inside a mill. There, he lit a fire as the child continued to put down a trail of candy from the door. The older brother asked him about his work, which the woodsman responded with a vague answer about having to keep the lantern lit.
Maybe he wasn't the best person to ask for help. The frog couldn't understand why a lantern had to be kept lit forever. The teenager seemed to have the same idea, and quietly suggested to his brother that they leave the place, though the frog thought knocking him out was a bit excessive. The woodsman didn't do anything else that was suspicious. Soon enough, their conversation degraded into yet another shushing battle.
The woodsman heard the whisperings (they shush too loud), and before anything could be done, the younger brother blurted out their entire plan. The man was… surprisingly unoffended by it. Instead, he warned them about the Beast once more, and that it had something to do with singing mournful melodies and searching for souls. Then, he declared that he had to work in the mill, and left the three alone in the room.
"Huh, I guess... we could just leave," the older brother said uncertainly, "Uhgh, I don't know… Greg!"
"What?"
As the younger brother replied, he grabbed for a nearby log, releasing the frog he had been holding.
He hopped away, spotting that the door to the outside was open, and he hopped out. As soon as he did, the door behind him quietly slammed shut. Well, that wasn't a good idea. Now, how was he going to get back in?
Originally, he just wanted some space from the humans, being in such close proximity to them was actually kind of overwhelming. Admittedly, he had hoped that the two would become his first fans, but then he remembered that they don't even share the same language, so what was the point? But he didn't know if leaving them was the best idea. Even without some Beast lurking around the woods, he didn't want to be in there alone. He knew full well how defenseless a frog was among unfamiliar territory, ripe for predators to eat.
Now, isolated in a place he did not know, the frog felt extremely vulnerable. He was pretty sure he heard something growl among the trees, and his mind went back to the Beast that the woodsman had warned so fervently about. The frog quivered in terror.
Then, he remembered his mother's tearful face, and his fear was slowly replaced with determination. No, the frog was not going to be eaten or stuck here forever. He had to see her one last time, when she awoke in spring.
First, he had to find a way back into the mill. He hopped around the perimeter of the house, and hearing the woodsman's humming, came upon an open window over a barrel. He hopped onto the rocks and looked up. Well, getting to the top of the barrel was going to be difficult, but nothing he's never done before. He crouched low, charging himself up with a high jump, and took off.
He overshot and missed the edge, instead falling to the bottom of the open barrel. Great, now he was stuck here. He had never considered starving to death as the possible obstacles from home. Almost immediately after that thought, the frog heard the front door open.
"Kitty! Kitty! Now where did that frog named Kitty go?"
It was the younger brother, and for some reason the frog's name was now Kitty. He slapped himself with his webbed hands, what kind of name was that? No matter, the boy could help get him out of the barrel. He inhaled and croaked as loud as he could.
"That frog's giving me the run around."
Through the opening of the barrel, he saw someone climb onto the edge of the barrel, presumably the child. The boy did not seem to notice the frog yet, and was busy looking into the open window, so the frog let loose another loud croak.
"Kitty?...Hmm… is that-whoop!"
The child fell into the barrel, landing on top of the frog. He winced, humans were definitely a lot heavier than frogs.
"Oh there you are!"
"Get off of me!" The frog ribbited in protest. It was getting hard to breathe with his weight on him.
His annoyance was suddenly dispelled by the growls growing ever louder in the distance. Now that it seemed closer, it sounded even more menacing than a raccoon, which he never even knew was possible. Was this supposed to be the Beast?
The child heard the growling as well, and he called out uncertainly.
"Wirt?"
Footsteps could be heard accompanying the growling. Heavy footsteps that grew louder each second.
Nope. He's not a frog. He's not food. He's not in this barrel. Stop talking child. Please don't mind this barrel. It's just a barrel.
"Kitty?"
PLEASE BE QUIET.
Too late.
A black… thing peered into the barrel. It's rainbow colored eyes glowing brightly in the darkness of the container.
"You have beautiful eyes!" The child exclaimed, but the compliment didn't quell the creature. It opened its mouth and… those teeth were sharper than any predator he had ever seen.
The creature violently shoved its head into the barrel, almost biting off a chunk of the child. In a twisted way, the frog was actually glad now that the child was on top of him. This meant that the creature would go for the boy first. Luckily for the both of them, it wasn't able to fit more of its body into the barrel.
Suddenly, the creature fell back with its head still stuck in the barrel, causing it to tilt sideways. The boy was quick enough to cling onto the insides of the barrel. Thankfully, he grabbed the frog before he fell into the chomping jaws of the beast. Maybe the boy wasn't such a liability after all.
The thing started shaking its head furiously, trying to get the barrel off. Finally, it slammed the barrel at the wall and broke it into pieces. The boy and the frog desperately scrambled away from the creature of darkness, both racing towards the mill. The boy quickly flung the door open and tried to close the door behind him, but the creature broke through the door before it could be done.
So much for this house being a safe haven. The frog hopped to the safety of the woodsman, except the child decided that now was the correct time to knock him out. So much for that guy as well.
The creature went for the older brother, only for it to be distracted by the younger one spanking it with the handle of the woodsman's axe. The frog debated on whether to leave them as bait or to stay; he only needed them to get back home, but then again, he needed them nonetheless. Weirdly enough, the teenager had no qualms ditching them.
The creature roared at the two of them. Yeah, they should probably leave, too.
"Candy… camouflage!"
The boy reached into his pants, grabbing a handful of candy and showering them everywhere, then grabbed the frog and running out the door, dragging the axe along with him.
The creature charged at them, running straight through the doorway and toppling shelves and machinery.
"This is amazing, huh?" The younger brother called excitedly.
Not really.
The older brother caught sight of a sack of potatoes, and threw the potatoes at it, attempting to repel it. It didn't work.
"Am I supposed to throw something?"
The child looked between the axe and the frog. For a moment, the frog was scared that he was going to be the one thrown.
Before he could, however, the creature roared loudly, sending the kid off his feet. It pounced inches away from him and the frog, but then a spark of realization reached the boy's eyes.
"Oh yeah! Haha!"
He reached into his pants and threw candy all over the creature. This caught its attention, and it proceeded to lick up and devour the candy thrown.
Oh, so it was the candy that the thing was after.
When it had licked up all the candy, the creature, wanting more, toppled the table the brothers were standing on, sending them all to the ground. The frog climbed onto the young one's tea kettle. He was faster than the frog, so he'll just ride on him.
The two brothers quickly climbed up to the roof, but the creature easily burst through it.
"U-uhhh Greg! Give him the rest of your candy!"
The younger brother reached into its pants, only to come out empty-handed. Shoot, if there's no candy, what else would it eat? Hopefully not meat, right?
As if on cue, the boy noticed the last piece of candy sticking onto the older brother's cape, grabbed it, and threw it down the rotating mill. The creature dove straight for it, and its body landed between the mill and a rock, jamming the mill and wrecking the roof they were on, causing them to fall off.
The three of them fell into the stream. The frog preferred to just swim to the surface, but the younger brother grabbed him and sat him on top of a dog. Wait, was that the creature?
On the grass, the frog spotted a familiar black turtle, the one that the child had put candy on top of. It couldn't have walked all the way here in a short amount of time, so something else must have transported it here.
The dog booted them both off of his back, shook himself clean, and walked away. Suddenly, the woodsman cried out.
"The mill is destroyed. The oil, all gone!"
"B-But look! We got the Beast problem solved," the older brother pointed at the resting dog. Well, the brother's got a point.
"That dog?! THAT is not the Beast! The Beast cannot be mollified like some farmer's pet! He stalks like the night. He sings like the four winds. He's the death of hope! He steals children, and he'll ruin the-the…"
This resulted in the teenager scolding at his brother about "always messing up," hitting the kettle on his head. But the woodsman scolded at the older brother, telling him that it was his responsibility to take care of his sibling. The frog silently agreed, when his younger siblings were punished for their actions, he was always included in them. Sometimes, he would tell himself that going to the wall was a bad habit. It put his siblings out of his sight, leaving them vulnerable.
The frog was more worried about this Beast, though. By children, did he mean human children, or just children in general? Maybe the frog could be counted as an adult now?
The woodsman directed the boys North to find a town, again warning them of the Beast and the forest of the Unknown.
Lastly, the woodsman spoke to the younger brother.
"And little one, you have that frog, give it a proper name."
"Yes, please do that," the frog croaked in agreement. If he was going to get a name, he didn't want to be called "Kitty" for the rest of their journey.
As they walked, the younger one-Greg- spoke up again.
"Wirt, I think I thought of a name for our new frog."
The frog perked up. This should be interesting.
"I'm gonna call him Wirt."
No, he did not want to have the same name as the brother. Besides, Wirt was a really weird name to begin with.
"That's going to be really confusing."
"Nope, I'm gonna call you, Kitty."
Well, to be honest, Wirt was better than Kitty.
"What? Maybe I'll start calling you, Candypants."
"Whoa. Yeah!"
"Better than Kitty," the frog chuckled.
"Good one, Wirt."
"Thanks."
"I'm not talkin' to you, I'm talkin' to Wirt!"
And on they went…
A/N: Hey guys, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I thought presenting the frog's point of view was actually a nice challenge, mostly because he was so inexpressive for most of the episode, so I had to really imagine what was going on in his head. I hope you like this story so far!
