It was market day in the town of Wartwood. Anne and Sprig were running the Plantar stall, while Jean was running Pebbs new Harveston stand. The stand held many vegetation that Pebbs had harvested, bugs and grubs she'd caught and even some dishes she'd made. The newt had named it: "Grubs and Shrubs", which the kids thought was kinda catchy.
Jean sighed in boredom. Flossie was sick that day, and Anne was busy with a customer. Sprig was no where to be found. Glancing over to the Plantar's stand, she watched the customer pay. She was lucky to get a place right next to the Plantars, but for some odd reason no one wanted to buy anything.
"Here you go, deary." The frog said, placing copper coins into Anne's hand. "Catch ya later, Mrs. Croaker!" Anne waved, as the older frog chuckled. "Oh, they'll never catch me!" Mrs. Croaker stared at the Harveston's stand, but walked briskly away. Jean groaned, her eye catching sight of the stand across from them, the sign reading "Flour: Breads and Pastries". Anne was looking at the same stand, more specifically the stall owner. "Hey, Maddie! Happy market day!" She greeted. "Maddie" turned to face the human creepily, a sinister smile on her face.
Anne giggled. "Haha, classic creepy Maddie. Hey, how ya doing over there Jean?" She asked. The older teen groaned in frustration. "Nobody wants to buy anything! Pebbs dishes aren't that bad! Maybe it's because I'm new? Is that what it is?"
Anne walked over, giving Jean a pat on the back. "Hey, don't sweat it Jean. These guys do this with everyone new. Heck, they even did it to me. Just give them time to get used to you." She advised. Jean only sighed, watching another frog glance at her, before quickly walking away. "Alright, I'll give it a shot." She muttered.
The two girls heard a cough come from a pile of vegetables in the Plantars stand. Looking over, they noticed a strange shape hidden among the vegetables. "Uh, Sprig, what are you doing?" Anne asked. Sprig peeked out, staring at Maddie's stall. "Hiding. Ever since Maddie and I got engaged, things between us have been…awkward."
Jean rested her chin on her hand, a smirk covering her features. "You're engaged? I didn't know that. How'd it happen?" She asked curiously. Sprig sighed. "Anne sold my eternal happiness for pizza." He mumbled. Jean shrugged. "Hmm, seems accurate."
"Dude, if you don't want to be engaged anymore, just go break it off." Anne said. Sprig freaked, jumping out of the barrel. "BREAK UP WITH HER?! TO HER FACE?!" He cried as he crawled into Anne's hair, peeking out at the creepy frog. "She'll kill me!"
The trio glanced over to the stall, where Maddie was madly chopping at a bread with a butcher's knife. Sprig whimpered at the sight, and Jean wasn't gonna lie when that sight made her uncomfortable.
Anne pulled Sprig out of her hair, placing him back on the ground. "Look, breakups are no big deal. I used to do it for my friends all the time. They called me the breakup queen. Also Angel of Death." She stated. Jean nodded. "It's true, she helped me break up with my ex. Wonder what he's doing now?" She pondered.
Sprig smiled. "Perfect! You go break up with her for me, and I'll go find a new hiding spot!" He said. The two cheered. "Yeah! Spranne against the world!"
Jean smiled at their nickname for each other. Looking at her stall, she grabbed a beetle, grinning at Sprig. "Hey Sprig! Go long!" She yelled, throwing the beetle. Sprig jumped up, and Anne boosted him higher with her hands, sending him in the direction of the ball.
He caught it mid-air, but he crashed into someone passing by, carrying a pot of berries. Jean winced when the frog dropped the berries, and they landed in the mud. She rushed over as Sprig stood up, the trio apologising. "Oops, sorry about that Barry."
"I didn't see you there, Barry."
"I'm really sorry Barry."
Barry stood up straight, facing the trio. He smiled brightly, winking at them. "Shucks, kids. Don't worry about it. Nothing gets Barry down!" He said. He reached behind Anne and Sprig's ears, pulling out a piece of candy. The two gasped in amazement. Barry then did the same for Jean, who stared at it for a moment. Shrugging, she took the candy. Picking up his bucket, Barry walked away. "Have a "Barry" good day." He laughed. The trio watched Barry walk to his stand, announcing his presence to the town.
"There goes Barry, sweetest frog in all of Wartwood." Sprig stated. Jean leaned against the stand, watching Barry for a minute.
"Swell. And now to break up with Maddie for ya." With that, Anne made her way over to Maddie's stall. Jean grinned. "Don't die!" She called.
Barely a minute went by, when Anne came back. "Or maybe breaking up by text would be better." Sprig was confused with the statement, and Jean laughed. "What happened Anne?" She said with a grin. Anne squinted at Maddie. "Text would be better." Was all she said. Jean scoffed, getting up from her stand. "If you really want to, I'll tell her for you." She stated, walking around the stand and making her way across. Anne shrugged. "Ok, go for it." Sprig once again asked what text was, and Anne explained it to him.
Jean was about to talk to her when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. In the oven sat three figures. One was of Anne, another of Sprig, and oddly one was of Jean. She backed up, retreating to her stall. Anne laughed at the teen, and Jean glared at her. "Shut it."
"Hehe, now we're all cowards!"
"Alright, back to plan C." Anne said, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. Leaning on the ground, she wrote: "Dear Maddie, I break up with you. Sprig."
Folding it into a paper plane, she threw it to Maddie. It struck her in her head, and the frog read it. She stared at the trio across from her, before disappearing into the back of the stands.
"Huh, it worked?" Jean muttered, as Sprig and Anne high-fived each other. "See? Like I said, no problem."

Later that day, in a storage shed out in the woods, someone struck a match in the dim light. They threw it at a fire pit, where a large cauldron sat.
The person stared down at the boiling contents within, dropping two pieces of hair and a bit of wax into it. Where the objects fell, three faces appeared. One of Anne, one of Sprig and one of Jean. They swirled around for a few seconds, before disappearing.
A large green mist rose from the cauldron, giving an evil grin as it faded.

Jean awoke, feeling stiff and sore. She had spent the night at the Plantars house, since it was too late to head back to the Harveston's. "What the- dangit, that's the last time I sleep on the couch." She grumbled. Sitting up, she let out a yelp of pain, and looked down at her arms.
She let out a scream as her arms were covered with small, hard bumps. Touching them, Jean realised it was wood. Another scream was heard from the basement, and Anne rushed up the stairs. She was covered in small feathers. Sprig rushed downstairs, stumbling over things. Jean realised that his eyes were covered with hair.
Anne backed up into Sprig, as Jean rushed stiffly to the two. "Sprig! Jean! What happened to you two-CAW!" Sprig gasped. "Whoa, what happened to your voice!" He asked. Anne began freaking out. "It's not just my voice, dude! When I woke up, these things started growing out of me." She flicked a feather. "And whenever I try to talk, I just-" she covered her mouth, but she couldn't stop herself as she cawed again.
Jean scratched at the wood on her arms frantically, but the patches wouldn't come off. "And I just woke up aching all over, and I'm covered with splinters!" She cried. "What is going on!?" Anne yelled.
At that moment, Hop Pop walked into the kitchen. "Morning, kids. Goodness gracious, boy! What's on your face!?" He shrieked. Sprig shrugged. "I dunno. I just woke up like this." He replied. "And me. Anytime I try to talk I- CAW!" Anne butted in. Jean let out a yelp as pain shot through her arm. "And whenever I move it hurts!" She yelled, clutching at her arm.
Polly let out a yawn, bouncing down the stairs. "Have you guys seen my toothbrush?" She asked, before catching sight of the three older kids. Sprig turned his head to face her, Anne let out a chirp, quickly covering her mouth, and Jean scratched at her cheek, realising that there were patches of wood there too.
The polliwog burst out laughing at the sight. "YES!" She wheezed.
Hop Pop scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm. Woke up like this, you say?" He muttered, plucking out one of Anne's feathers. She let out a yelp, rubbing her cheek as he inspected Jean, scratching on the wood on her arms. Lifting up Sprig's hair off his eyes, Sprig gasped. "You fixed it!" He cried, just as Hop Pop dropped the hair. Polly started giggling.
"I've seen all I need to. You two…have been cursed!" He announced. Anne was shocked. "Cursed?! SQUAWK-That's a thing here?" She asked. Jean stared at her in confusion. "Well, yeah, there is magic here….oh." she muttered. Before Anne could question her, Hop Pop continued. "This land of ours is home to many arts, Anne. Sculpture, mosaics, and of course…..THE DARK ARTS." He stated, his face grim. Sprig clutched his hair. "Cursed?! But-but how? When?" He questioned, looking down at his hands. Hop Pop thought for a minute. "Well, it takes about a night for a curse to kick in. Either of you three upset anyone yesterday?"
The trio let out a gasp in realisation. "Maddie!"
"Sprig, you gotta go talk to her!" Jean begged. Polly smirked. "Any way you could wait till tomorrow? Because I am loving this." She pointed to Sprig. His hair grew more. "Hey, I think it's getting better." He started, but Anne interrupted him. "Dude, we have to go talk to Maddie. Only she can reverse this."
Sprig let out a sigh. "You're right. Or maybe we can try lifting this curse ourselves, without any awkward conversations." He proposed. Jean was about to object, but Anne stopped her. "Okay, but hurry. I've got a really bad feeling about where this is headed."
A line of ants walked by, catching Anne's attention. Immediately, she started pecking at them, very much like a bird. Jean, weirded out by her odd behaviour, shuddered. "Man, I'm glad I'm not turning into a bird." She mumbled, scratching her irritated arms.

3 HOURS LATER…

Sprig leaned over a pot, reading out of a book titled "So You've Been CURSED". "Come on, come on. A little bit of this…" He muttered, tipping something from a bottle into the pot. It exploded, sending out a puff of green smoke. Coughing, Sprig stared at the pot in worry. "Well, that didn't work either. How are you doing over there, girls?" He called.
Hop Pop, Polly, Anne and Jean were sitting on the couch. Jean wasn't in anymore pain, but now it was hard for her to move. She was now completely covered with bark, loose only in areas she had kept her limbs. Anne removed the newspaper she was reading from her face, revealing she had transformed into a big brown bird. Polly and Hop Pop shrieked at the sight. "Girls, are you ok?" He asked, concerned. Anne shrugged. "You know, it's actually not that bad. Watch this."
With that, she got up from the couch, knelt on the ground and began digging around in a hole in the wooden planks. Jean watched in disgust as she pulled out a giant worm, gobbling it down like it was nothing. Realising what she did, Anne grimaced. "I hate this curse." She muttered.
Another loud explosion came from the kitchen, and everyone watched as Sprig was sent flying into the wall.
"I think I'm getting closer."
That's when Anne had had enough. She marched over to the stuck frog, pulling him from the wall. "Sprig, enough is enough. You are going to get Maddie to lift this curse, and that's that." She ordered, setting him down. "Fine, fine." Sprig whined, making his way to the door. "But it's gonna be so awkward."
He opened the door, revealing Maddie on the doorstep. "Got Mr. Plantar's bread order here." She said tiredly. Sprig slammed the door shut. "She's here! Someone hide me." He exclaimed. The door fell off its hinges, crushing Sprig underneath. Polly screamed. "Run! Objects bend to her will!"
Hop Pop held up his hand to silence her. "Nope. That's on me. Forgot to fix those hinges." He explained.
Getting up and dusting himself off, Sprig turned to Maddie. "Oh…hey, Maddie." He said awkwardly. Maddie's eyes widened in shock. "Sprig?"
Jean pushed Sprig toward her. "Stop stalling." She hissed, scratching at her wooden arms. The young frog turned to Maddie, trying to avoid eye contact. "Uh, uh….Maddie, I'm sorry for the way I broke up with you. It was wrong of me to have Anne do it and doubly wrong that we didn't do it face to face."
Maddie squinted at him, thinking over his apology. "Well, your breakup literally hit me in the face. But as much as I would've preferred an actual conversation, I was fine with what you wrote."
Sprig sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness." He uttered, as Anne fluffed up her feathers boastfully. "Told ya. Breakup qua-ween." She stated. A crow flew through the door, landing on her head. It let out a caw as it made its home.

"So can you take these curses off of us?" Sprig asked timidly. "Please?"
Maddie only held her hands behind her back. "Sorry, but I can't. Curses can only be lifted by the caster, and this isn't my curse." She explained.

The trio let out a gasp. "But if it wasn't you, then who?!" Jean shrieked. Maddie hummed to herself, reaching into her pockets and after grabbing a few ingredients and mixing them up, threw a smoke bomb down at their feet. Letting out a cough, they all looked down to find a blue trail leading out the door. "This trail will lead us to the caster. Quickly! Before it goes cold!" With that, she rushed out the door, leaving the trio to chase after her.
Polly and Hop Pop watched them go. "You gonna fix this door?"
"Eh. Eventually."

Running through the woods, Anne took this opportunity to jump into the air. She floated there for a few seconds, before falling to the ground. Jean stared at her in confusion as she passed by. "Eh, worth a shot." Anne said, getting back on her feet and chasing after Maddie.
Maddie turned to face Sprig as they followed the mist. "Why'd you think it was me who cursed you?" She questioned. Sprig shrugged, tying the hair that covered his eyes into a ponytail. "Well, you do give off a creepy vibe." He confessed. Maddie turned to the pink frog angrily. "Just because I'm creepy to you doesn't mean I'm a bad person. I'll have you know, I learn magic to help people, not hurt them. Sheesh. Appearances aren't everything, Sprig." She muttered. Sprig halted in his sprint. "Yeah, well that's…that's a really good point." He said. Anne flew down from above, while Jean creaked to a stop beside him. The crow that was in Anne's hair cawed, and Anne nodded her head in agreement. "Kurt the crow says this will all end in tears." Jean rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Geez, Sprig, buddy, when will you learn your lesson?" She muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jumping over bushes, Sprig and Maddie landed on their feet, while Anne fell flat on her face. Jean fell on top of the teenager, finding it more and more difficult to move. "Guys. Help. Please." Anne wheezed, and the young frogs helped Jean onto her feet.
The four glanced up to face the shack in front of them, letting out a gasp. The mist they were following disappeared, vanishing through the cracks of the doors.
Opening the doors, they walked in, taking in their surroundings. It was dark, the only source of light was from the door.
"What kind of evil person would live in a place like this?" Anne whispered.
The door they entered through shut behind them, leaving them in darkness. Mushrooms start to light up the room, one by one, revealing the shelves stacked with candy. In the corner, a figure is revealed, and they tilted their hat to look at the group. "Hello, children." A familiar voice greeted. The children all gasp in shock. "Barry?!"
Barry laughed. "Enjoying the curse I put on you?" He asked casually, a wide smirk on his face as he swung his cane in a showman like manner.
"Why, Barry? Why?" Sprig asked, as everyone stared at the caster. The smirk on Barry's face fell, replaced by one of pure anger and hatred, as he pointed to the children accusingly. "Why? I'll tell you why. Surely you remember barging into me at the market yesterday? Spilling my entire stock of Blue Moon Berries that only grow once every ten years. They were priceless! I played it cool and was sweet because my image is half my business. I may look nice, but I'm petty and vengeful on the inside. " The caster gloated. Maddie elbowed Sprig and Anne, motioning for them to apologise. Anne scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, that was our bad. Looks can be deceiving. We get it."
Sprig clicked his fingers as he remembered his and Maddie's conversation. "Ah, right, right. The lesson thing. Barry, we're sorry. Please lift the curse." He begged. "You can't see it really, but I'm begging on my knees." Anne let out a coo, and Jean scratched her arm. Not in irritation, but out of nervousness. "We're sorry Barry."
Barry placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Hmm, let me think. Never! Not only am I petty, but I'm very unforgiving." He exclaimed, turning away from the group and crossing his arms like a petty child. Maddie had had enough, and stepped forward, her anger clearly shown. "As a curse wielder myself, this abuse of magic offends me." With that, she pulled out bags of curses, throwing them at Barry. The caster dodged it, taken aback.
"You should NEVER curse someone unless they really deserve it. And, buddy, you deserve it." She continued, throwing yet another at curse at Barry. Barry dodged all of her attacks, making his way to a barrel. Pulling out his own curses, he smiled evilly. "Two can play at that game!"
A battle commenced, each magic wielder throwing curses at each other, as Anne, Sprig and Jean struggled to keep out of the crossfire.
Barry hit the barrel of his curses, letting out a cry of anguish when he realised he had two left. Maddie reached into her pockets, finding none. "I'm out!" She cried.
Barry took this as his chance to throw one of them. Maddie didn't see it as she had her back turned. "Maddie look out!"
Maddie turned around, just as Jean shoved her aside. A puff of green smoke enveloped her, and Anne let out a screech when it cleared. Jean was no longer a moving, wooden doll, but a small tree. "What do we do?!" The teenager cried.
Maddie stood up, glaring at Barry. "Give me a hand." She ordered. Anne was confused. "You mean literally? Or figuratively? OW!" Maddie plucked a feather from Anne's wing, rushing over to Trean (see what I did there?) and grabbing a few leaves. Finally pulling one of Sprig's hair's out, she charged at Barry, as she created another curse. Barry threw his own curse. "GOTCHA!" He yelled. Maddie caught it effortlessly, and jumping into the air, she threw both curses at Barry.
A purple smoke filled the whole shack, making a huge explosion that could be seen from the Plantar's home.

Hop Pop struggled to lift the door, leaning against it as he turned to Polly. "And that's how you fix a door." He announced. The door fell over, crushing Hop Pop underneath as Polly watched in boredom. "Good job."

The purple smoke cleared, revealing the mixture of a large, wooden fluffy bird. The bird coughed. "Oh no! My beautiful body!" The bird cried in Barry's voice. Anne, Sprig, and Jean coughed, emerging from the mist. They looked down at themselves, realising they were back to normal. "We're back to normal!" Sprig realised. "She turned the curses back on him! I can talk!" Anne cheered.
Jean padded her legs down, sighing in relief. "Thank frog." She muttered. Anne rushed to her, giving her a hug. "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN." She scolded. Jean chuckled. "No promises."
Barry crossed his arms. "Alright, you crazy kids bested me. Now go on, turn me back." He ordered, preparing himself.
Maddie glared at the former frog, unamused. "Nothing doing. You're way too dangerous." She replied. Barry let out a panicked caw. "What!? You can't just leave me like this!"
Sprig walked up to Maddie, pitying the former frog. "Aw, come on, Maddie. We did him wrong."
Jean leaned against one of the many stacked barrels, arms crossed in annoyance. "I don't think we did." She muttered to herself. Anne elbowed her, to which Jean gave her a "what?" look.
Maddie sighed. "Fine. I'll change him back." She gave in. Glancing at the shelves of candy, she smirked. "But for a price."

Jean, Anne, Sprig and Maddie were trekking through the woods back to Maddie's home, each carrying a box of candy. "Uh, any chance we could get some of this candy?" Sprig asked, as Maddie scoffed. "No way."
As Anne placed the box of candy down on the Flour's door step, the crow that was living in her hair this entire time let out a caw, flying into the sky. Anne watched him go, a soft smile on her face. "Goodbye, Kurt. I'm not sure if all this was a blessing or a curse." She sniffed, wiping away a tear.
"It was literally a curse, Anne." Jean pointed out tiredly.
Sprig turned to Maddie. "Thanks for helping us, Maddie." He said. "And sorry the engagement had to end like this. Friends?" He extended a hand. Maddie smiled, shaking it. "Friends." Pulling him towards him, she whispered in a creepy voice, "I can't wait to hang out."

It was now night at the Plantar's house. Everyone was sleeping as an owl hooted outside. Sprig was in his room, sound asleep. Waking up to grab a drink, he realised his cup was empty. Letting out a groan, he stood up, walking down the stairs to the kitchen.
He let out a yelp as a large shadow figure moved about in the living room. Turning on a mushroom, the figure was revealed to be Anne, pecking at the ants beneath her like a bird. Realising she'd been caught, she stood up quickly. "What, you got a better way to eat ants off the floor? Sheesh." She muttered, walking back to the basement.
Sprig watched the human, disturbed.

(A week later…)

It was market day once again. Jean's stall was beside the Plantar's once again, and Pebbs had gone to buy some lunch with Flossie, leaving Jean to take care of the stand.
Letting out a bored sigh, she leaned on the stand counter, resting her chin in her hand. Eyes half closed, she heard a "ehem" sound in front of her.
Looking up in surprise, she realised the same frog that regularly visited the Plantar's stand, Mrs. Croaker, was standing in front of the stall. She was surveying the dishes and jars. "I heard that this stand sells goods. What've ya got?" She asked.
Jean stares at her in confusion for a moment. Heard?
Glancing up at the stall opposite her, Maddie grinned, giving her a thumbs up. Jean returns the gesture, giving Mrs. Croaker a smile. "Oh! Hi Mrs. Croaker! I'd love to show you what we have!"