VII - The Adventure

It was a bit unfortunate that of all the things that could get lost regularly, Anais' Daisy the Donkey was the most common. There was the time with Tina – and that time when she had accidentally been murdered – and this time, Anais had lost her in the forest while on a field trip with her class.

"Why are we out here again?!" Screamed Darwin, holding a fin over his eyes to block out the pouring rain.

"Because I can't sleep without her!" exclaimed Anais, trudging through the mud in the field towards said forest. She had recruited her brothers to help look for Daisy – this was the sort of thing they did all the time, right? And she knew that they would help her if she asked.

"Sure, but at 6pm?!" exclaimed Gumball, very much not enjoying the rain soaking him to the bone.

"I told you, I CAN'T SLEEP WITHOUT HER!" Yelled Anais over the loud noise of the storm.

Anais was determined. She had lost Daisy before, but this was the first time she had no idea where specifically to look. She knew it was somewhere around the forest nearby, but she didn't have the first clue where.

The three of them had been looking for a few hours. When Anais had gotten home and realised that Daisy was missing, she had first combed through the entire house, from top to bottom. That in and of itself had taken at least an hour or two, before she had rushed back to the school to try there. Obviously, the school was closed, and upon thinking it over, she realised that she couldn't recall putting Daisy back into her locker after the field trip anyway, but she did remember taking her onto the bus.

That meant she could only be in the forest – hence why now, hours later, she and her brothers were on their way there to begin looking. Even though it was storming like nothing else. She refused to go home – even for dinner, until Daisy was back in her arms. Gumball and Darwin had called their parents to say that they were out with some friends for the evening, and Anais was touched by their dedication.

Whatever, the storm was only more incentive to get Daisy back faster. The idea of Daisy, out here, alone, getting wet, made Anais incredibly anxious.

It was spring, so the storm overhead had fast-tracked the sunset, and the light was getting incredibly dim. Anais squinted through the rain – up ahead, the entrance to the forest loomed.

"OVER HERE!" She called out, and her brothers trudged over to join her.

"Really? In here?" Asked Darwin, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah, this will take ages to search," said Gumball, squinting at the dark mass that was the forest. "Do you remember exactly where you guys went today?"

"Umm, we were looking at a really old tree for biology," said Anais. "I… don't remember exactly where, though…"

"Okay, well…" Said Gumball, for once taking charge as the older brother. "It's getting pretty late, and we'll probably need to get home soon, not to mention have dinner. So… we'll look for a bit, but if we can't find her after an hour, we'll have to come back tomorrow, okay?"

As much as Anais wanted to protest that she needed Daisy, she knew her brother was right. "Alright," she acquiesced reluctantly. "But let's stay close, okay? I don't think I'll be able to see very well for much longer-!"

Gumball and Darwin gladly agreed, and made their way into the forest.

Inside the forest, the rain was thankfully less powerful, being blocked out by the canopy. However, the canopy also meant that the already dim light got even worse – Anais and Darwin were left squinting harshly as they searched around, trying not to trip over or run into anything.

It wasn't long before Anais found that it had indeed gotten too dark. She could hardly see a metre in front of her, and upon nearly tripping over a tree root, realised that she had lost sight of her siblings. "GUMBALL!" She called, panicked. "DARWIN! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?! IT'S TOO DARK!"

"OVER HERE!" Came Darwin's voice from another direction. She heard some shuffling noises, and damp, squelching footsteps frantically moving around.

"I'LL STAY HERE!" She yelled out again.

"OKAY; I'M COMING TO FIND YOU!" Came Gumball's voice, a bit closer than Darwin's.

Anais stayed where she was, calling out to them occasionally so they could find her. It took a few minutes, but eventually, a soft hand pressed down on her shoulder. She couldn't help but jump at the unexpected touch, but relaxed when she realised it was Gumball.

"Gumball?" She asked, just to make sure.

"Yeah," he said.

"I'm here too!" Came Darwin's voice. "Sorry about that – I didn't think we would get so far from each other…"

"Me neither," said Anais, drooping. "Maybe… maybe we should just go home. We're never going to find Daisy in this darkness…"

"Hey," said Gumball. "I can still see pretty well, you know,"

Anais turned in the direction of his voice, surprised. "Really?" She asked. Something clicked in her mind – of course! "Oh yeah, cats have pretty good night vision, right?"

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Gumball proudly. "I can see both of you right now – you look terrified, Darwin, hahahaha!"

"Hey!" Protested Darwin, but Anais payed them no mind. If Gumball could still see, maybe there was still hope!

"Gumball!" She exclaimed. "Do you think you could help us around the forest?"

"Yeah, I could…" he said, his tone weary. "But I think it's probably time to head home. I don't really want to get separated again. We can come back tomorrow, okay?"

As much as she hated it, he was right. "I… okay," she whispered, already feeling the crushing weight of a Daisy-less night descending upon her.

The three siblings began to make their way out of the forest, looking to Gumball for guidance. He helped them avoid obstructions in the path, leading them along carefully. However, it wasn't too long into the walk when something peculiar caught Anais' nose.

She stopped, and sniffed the air deeply. Was that – yes, it was a bit hard to tell over the smells of the forest and the rain, but she could definitely smell Daisy somewhere nearby.

"Guys!" She called out. Next to her, she heard her brothers stop moving forward.

"Anais?" Questioned Darwin.

"I can smell Daisy! She's close!" She exclaimed in excitement, hope bubbling up in her chest again.

"Really?" Asked Darwin happily. "That's great! Gumball, you could lead us through the forest, while Anais gives you directions!"

"Well… okay, I guess," said Gumball. "But not for too long, okay? We have to head home sometime, you know,"

"Yeah, I know," said Anais. "But she's close, I know it!"

Not wanting to waste time, Anais felt Gumball grab a hold of her hand. Anais quickly grabbed Darwin's in turn, and the three of them headed off towards the direction Anais could smell Daisy was in.

Gumball led them through the dark forest, weaving around trees and bushes and telling them to step over roots and rocks. Anais told him to keep moving forward, just a bit more, a bit to the right, Daisy's scent getting stronger, until Gumball stopped in his tracks.

"Okay, we're in front of a really big tree right now," He said. Anais squinted, but the tree eluded her in the thick darkness. However, Daisy's smell was clearly wafting up from somewhere close by.

"This has to be the one," Said Anais. "Daisy's smell is really strong. Gumball, can you look around? I'm a bit too nervous to try and look in the dark with only smell to help me," she said.

"Yeah, sure," said Gumball, and she reluctantly let him release her hand. She stood stone still as she heard him wander off, thankfully not going too far. It was a great comfort to still have Darwin's hand tightly grasped in hers, and she felt herself relax slightly as he gave it a squeeze.

"I'm sorry I'm not much help, Anais," Said Darwin, sounding a bit guilty. "Maybe if Daisy were stuck in a lake, I'd be able to go in and get her for you…"

"Don't be silly, Darwin," Said Anais, tightening her grip on his hand. "I wouldn't have come out here without both of you. I need you just as much as I need Gumball, and… well, let's both be glad that Daisy isn't stuck in a lake-!"

They both let out nervous giggles, alleviating their frazzled nerves slightly. Anais' giggles turned into hiccups, and she felt tears well up as all the stress of the day came crashing down onto her.

"Don't worry, Anais," said Darwin kindly, pulling her into a hug. "Gumball will find Daisy, and then we can go home and have some food, okay?"

Anais nodded, feeling the hot tears fall out of her eyes and down her face. It had been a long day, and – well, as much as she felt and acted more mature than her brothers, she was still only a four year old who was terrified of being outside in the dark and getting lost. And right now, she was both. She was wet and cold, her favourite toy was missing, and she was very glad her brothers had come with her.

Darwin pulled her closer. Anais concentrated on his closeness – his breathing, his warmth, his comforting fishy smell. It was enough for her to become numb to the darkness and rain all around her, as they waited for Gumball to return.

They stayed like that for a little while, until she heard a shout in the distance.

"HEY – Oi, get off you little-!"

It was Gumball, sounding a bit further off from where they were. Anais' ears perked up, hoping he was okay.

There were a few more shouts, then the sound of a scuffle started up. "Get – argh! Stupid –"

Instead of finishing his verbal frustration, his words morphed into a feral sounding hiss, then a yowl. He didn't sound hurt though – just very annoyed.

He hissed again, and Anais giggled lightly.

"It's so funny when he does that," she said to Darwin, and he let out a surprised laugh.

"I know, right?" He said. "I don't think he even notices sometimes!"

The two laughed to themselves for a bit longer, until the sounds of the scuffle came to a stop. A moment later, the foliage rustled as Gumball came stumbling out.

"Here Anais, I got Daisy for you!" he called out.

"DAISY!" Yelled Anais, letting go of Darwin. She let Gumball come to her and press the doll into her hands, knowing that rushing towards him in the darkness wouldn't end well.

"There was some stupid animal trying to scratch it up, but I scared it off," he said proudly as Anais hugged the doll tightly.

"Nice job, dude!" Cheered Darwin.

Anais shifted the doll to one hand, and reached out until she felt Gumball in front of her. She surged forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly.

"Thank you so, so much!" She cried out. Startled, Gumball remained frozen in place for a moment, before leaning down and reciprocating the hug.

"Anytime, sis," he said. "Now, how about we get home?"

Anais nodded, releasing him and taking a hold of his hand, and the three siblings began the trek home.

That evening, Anais slept soundly, Daisy in arm. Truthfully, though Daisy provided her a lot of comfort, she would always sleep well knowing her brothers were right there sleeping nearby.