Chapter 5
That night was a long one for everyone. Packing all that they needed and leaving other things summoned nostalgia (a feeling of joy caused by memories) to all of them. The rocks Oyster played with, the blades of grass Elf Cup used to make the beds, the sticks Puff Ball stacked to make the shed.
Panther Cap really did not have anything that he had to pack at all. He just had his hat. So he sat inside, looking above the thorny roof at the moon. He wanted to help, but a lot of the work was being done late at night. So he stayed inside with Oyster and Slippery Jack who were already fast asleep. It was night, and Panther Cap stared at the moon, thinking about how soft the voice was, and why it felt like a whisper.
Just then, he noticed Fur Foot coming to him. Fur Foot did not look very happy, not at all.
"Hey, Fur Foot. Are you guys done rationing the flies?" Panther Cap couldn't believed he just used the word "rationing." He felt like an important boss just by saying that... it was usually outside of his vocabulary.
"Not yet," said Fur Foot. "I, I just need to get something." Fur Foot was staring at the ground, obviously thinking many things to himself, unable to sort out the many thoughts in his head. He didn't really need to get anything. He needed to be alone.
"Are you alright?" said Panther Cap. He couldn't really tell that Fur Foot needed to be alone. All he could tell was that Fur Foot wasn't feeling very happy. "Is everyone still feeling weird? I was beginning to think a couple of us already got over that."
Fur Foot was silent. He did not want to bring Panther Cap into his problems. However, he still felt like he needed some talking to.
"Panther Cap," Fur Foot softly replied. "I don't know how things got this way."
"What do you mean?" said Panther Cap, staring at Fur Foot.
"Well, things are taking a complete turnaround." Fur Foot was pacing around the haven, clearly getting agitated. That made Panther Cap a little nervous. "We settle in here, and no we have to leave without a doubt. It's like all of this work to make the tree was for nothing. We made sheds, we named it Good Haven-"
"I thought you said it was nature."
"Yeah, but... now I have to be the one to make sure we can all get there, to the tree. Panther Cap, I know you're the only one who heard the voice. I don't know if-"
"You can't hear it right now?" said Panther Cap.
Fur Foot stopped pacing. "...What?"
"I can hear it right now. It's saying we need to get up as early as possible."
"Panther Cap, I don't hear a thing."
"You don't?"
"I can't hear it."
"Well... maybe I'm the only one who can hear it."
"That just doesn't make sense!" shouted Fur Foot. Panther Cap froze. Everyone outside heard him. Fur Foot realized he scared Panther. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It's just..." Fur Foot paused for a moment, and sat down next to Panther Cap. "This turnaround means I have to be on top of it. Everyone's depending on me, and I'm not sure that I can handle that. Making a home is one thing, but a long adventure to find a new home and the toads is a lot of pressure. At least we knew how to find a safe spot here, since we're already close to the deep wet. But I can't handle-"
"Fur Foot, you're doing great!" said Beauty Stem who just entered the room. "We don't only depend on you, Fur Foot. You're a leader, and overseer. Everyone of us toads have a special quality which we all depend on, and the other toads depend on us! We follow you because we can trust you to lead, just like you'd trust me to keep you calm.
"But, Beauty Stem, I-"
"You also trust Shaggy Mane and Puff Ball to find food, and the others can find other things we need. We all depend on each other! Remember that little poem Shaggy Mane made up when we first got here?"
One small world, in a realm great and wide
One cozy cave to crawl inside.
Olden thoughts, memories are made.
Inside a little toadlet cave.
A place that we'll call home.
That we can call our own.
Thick, strong walls, so much food to sprout.
And thorns to keep the monsters out.
In dark holes, we are safe in light.
In safety we will sleep tonight.
For us the thorns will sprout,
To keep the monsters out.
The journey there, the work to make it.
We won't let any monster take it.
It's our home, a comfy cave and
A perfect little toadlet haven.
A home for family.
We'll all live happily.
"We'll be alright. We can get through the forest well enough if we depend on each other. See? We always do things together! We've always gotten through troubling times because we help each other out. We're brothers and sisters. Mom and Dad might have been protective of us in the Deep Wet, but they know we can handle the future. If they didn't think so, they wouldn't have wanted us to leave that place. That's where all of the toadlets are born, where all the babies are nursed. We don't need nursing anymore.
"We're grown up now. That poem was about how we found and made a new home. We can do it again. That song wasn't for clinging to the past. It was about making time. It was about making a new future. We can make a new home again!"
Fur Foot stared at her with wide eyes. Beauty Stem always knew how to turn a sad situation into a great one, and soon, some of Fur Foot's stress and uncertainty turned into confidence. Soon, Fur Foot had a smile on his face. He was still unsure of the future, but he was a lot less nervous now. "Thanks, Beauty Stem."
"BEAUTY STEEEM!" A voice came from outside.
"Fur Foot, let's get back outside. Don't worry about it. We'll be fine." Beauty Stem rushed to help Shaggy. The two were supposed to tie some leaves with flies in them together. Obviously, they would carry the flies.
"Alright, Panther Cap. I'm going back outside now. Are you positively sure you have everything you need in a leaf?"
"I'm not bringing anything." said Panther Cap. He then happily pointed to his head. "I have my hat."
"You just watch Oyster and Slippery Jack. Can you watch them?"
Panther Cap looked over at the sleeping toadlets. "I thought they were supposed to watch me."
"They're already asleep. I'm going to help out. But what do you mean you're the only one who can hear the voice? What's it saying now."
Panther Cap eyed Fur Foot with an almost happy look on his face, because the voice told him something that he was sure would help them in their upcoming journey. "Good luck."
