Dating Season
Sasha Waybright had always hated older sisters.
Living with Esther had taught her that older sisters absorbed all of their parents' attention, and just like them, scolded you if you did something wrong, no matter how small and insignificant. Although she had never said so openly, in her heart Sasha was secretly jealous of her friends Anne and Marcy, who unlike her were both only children, and as such, enjoyed all the attention and care of their parents.
Yet, now that Sasha was trapped in Amphibia, the thing she least expected to happen to her was that the roles were reversed, and now she was the older sister.
"Ivy, don't run like that!" Sasha said, trying at the same time to follow the little frog with her eyes and to watch where she put her feet, so as not to ruin her own shoes. "Can you at least tell me where are we going?"
"Into the woods as usual, Sash!"
"I know we are going into the woods," the blond girl almost tripped over a protruding rock, but managed to keep her balance. "We go there almost every day, hunting for rare insects for your collection!"
"Not this time!" Ivy smiled, showing Sasha some kind of now stale pumpkin, on which Ivy had painted a face, and with some twigs inserted to simulate arms "Look at this."
"Is this an attempt to introduce yourself to art and sculpture?" asked the human, forgetting about her distress for a moment. At least, if Ivy took up a more "static" hobby, she could relax and no longer have to worry about ruining her shoes by running into the woods.
"No, it's just the bait for today's ambush."
"Ambush? You're not thinking of-"
"Yes, I am. I remembered today that I haven't done ambush in a while. It's a good time to start again, don't you think?"
"Well, the thing is-"
As Sasha remembered, there was a reason why Ivy had stopped ambushing Sprig, and it was her. Since the moment the blonde human started working in Felicia's store (earning, in addition to a steady regular salary, professional martial arts lessons and a hot water shower at her disposal), the blonde girl spent every free second at her disposal with the young yellow frog. At first, it had been just her revenge plan, a way to get back at Sprig (who monopolized Anne) by "stealing" one of her best friends from her, but after a short time, Sasha had realized that she genuinely enjoyed Ivy's company, and what had previously been an act had become reality.
Sasha considered Ivy her friend now (no matter how hyperactive and energetic the frog was), and knew that Ivy saw her in the same way, on the same level as Sprig if not more so.
A mocking irony, as the revenge Sasha had struggled so hard to achieve, was now within her grasp just as she just didn't care anymore.
"I know what you're going to say, Sashy, but between spending time together with you in and out of the house, and hunting for rare insects, I had completely forgotten about the ambushes with Sprig. Of course, he spends so much time with your friend Anne now too-"
"Anne has always been very- very good at maintaining friendships." Sasha replied neutrally, as unknown thoughts crowded into her brain.
"Hey, Sasha, do you think Anne will come out with Sprig again, today?"
"Huh, probably? She's spending more time with him rather than with me currently." The girl replied, suppressing her internal frustration. Ivy was her friend now, just as Sprig was to Anne, and yet- why was she experiencing this pain every time she remembered it?
"Would you like to involve her in the ambush as well? That way, you could participate too..."
Sasha remained briefly stunned, as her mind analyzed Ivy's proposal: participate in the ambush? A wicked grin formed on her lips: was this a long-awaited opportunity to take revenge in a friendlier way and without showing off too much?
"Tell me what to do."
"Why do we always hang out in the woods, Sprig?" Anne asked, looking at the nature around them. "You have a perfectly good living room."
"Where's the fun in that? This place is full of nature. Whoo-hoo!"
Anne grimaced, as she walked into a scene that wouldn't have looked too strange in a documentary: a small, cute ladybug crawled over a fallen log, before being attacked and devoured alive by a large spider, bigger than her own hand, leaving her with a mixed look of shock and horror in her face.
"Yeah, exactly. At least couldn't we have waited a couple extra days? My hair are filled with leaves and twigs once again!"
It is a curse, the Thai-American grumbled as her hand moved to her head, grabbing some leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. No matter how many times she tried to wash them off, or how many precautions she took: even if she managed to clear her air out of any leftover leaves, they would be back to be filled with them by the next day. Mar-Mar even joked that there was something in her hair that made Amphibian flora stick to her head: what if she was right?
The duo continued to stroll around, before Sprig noticed something moving in the bushes to their left.
"Stay back!" Sprig gasped, signaling Anne to stop and arming himself with a stick. "It could be a bloodsucking predator!"
"You are really not selling me on this place." Wow, I feel like Sash now.
Sprig moved the bushes, aside, a wary look on his face, before he saw a large carved pumpkin with a smiling face painted all over, a couple of twigs as arms.
Something he knew very well what was.
"Oh no!" He gasped, his eyes widening all of a sudden, "This is an-"
"Ambush!" A female voice called from above, and a certain yellow-skinned frog jumped on him. Anne had barely a second to process, before another, larger figure moved from behind a tree and onto her.
"Wait-"The girl yelled, desperately trying to prepare a defense. Too little, too late, as the unknown figure tackled her on the ground, immobilizing her before she even had a chance to defend herself.
"Help, I'm trapped!"
"I'm hit! Sprig down! Sprig down!"
"Looks like someone hasn't been practicing," The figure over Anne spoke in a familiar voice. It was then that the girl recognized her fellow human face- and her blonde hair.
"Sasha?" Anne replied, nonplussed.
"Ha-ha!" Ivy snorted, emerging from the bushes "You didn't see that one coming."
"Oh, hey Ivy: Nice ambush! Pumpkin with twig arms? Nice Improvement. Plus, now you've enrolled Sasha as well? Unexpected."
"Can't take all the credit: you're too easy to trick and deceive."
"Well, guilty as charged."
"Sasha, what were you doing?"
"Well, Boonchuy, my little friend remembered that she hadn't set any good ambush for Sprig lately, so she decided to resume them. And since I was with her, she invited me to join."
"You were faster than the last time we trained together, Sash," Anne admitted, as the blonde girl helped her get back on her feet. "Plus, that was quite a nice blocking move: where did you learn it?"
By training with my employer, who is secretly a top-art martial fighter and teacher, "Huh, just something I came up with some self-training."
"Really?" Anne asked in wonder, "I can't believe it, your martial arts are getting better and better every day. Maybe we should start to have regular match weekly."
"We do have one already," Ivy smirked "Me, Sasha and the girl you call Amelia. Want to join?"
"I guess that's an option, little-"
"Oh, right!" Sprig gleamed up, walking between Anne and Ivy "I suppose I never got a chance to present you properly. Anne, meet Ivy: she is my childhood acquaintance and occasional sparring partner. Ivy-"
"I know, I know," she replied, before Sprig could even react, "Anne Boonchuy. Strange mammalian creature from another world. Best friend with Sasha and Marcy. Breakup Queen and Angel of Death of your school. I am familiar with you already."
"Wha- how did you even knew-"
Anne's eyes widened, as her head turned in Sasha's direction, right on time to see the blonde smirk.
"Sasha! You told her about me?"
"Hey, she was curious, and I never said anything that wasn't true."
"Angel of Death?" Sprig asked, puzzled.
"It was a nickname they gave me at school," Anne simply said, glancing at Sasha, "Since someone kept using me to break up with their boyfriends for them all the time."
"It was simpler than doing that myself," Sasha simply shrugged, "Like with Liam T., Oliver K., William A., Lucas O., the other William, Henry C., Alexander V., Jackson F., Mason D., Owen P., Joseph F., Frank R.-"
"Wait, you didn't break up with Frank!"
"I didn't?" Sasha looked at Anne, before checking her phone with a hurry, "Frog, this is why he kept calling me so much?"
"Sash, you need to get a proper planning of your relationships: you can't keep swapping boyfriends every two weeks."
"Wow, that's a lot of guys." Sprig murmured, surprisingly astonished.
"Well, what can I say? Perks of being popular." She winked, before Anne walked back in the conversation.
"Anyway, Ivy" the Thai-American girl spoke, looking at the young frog apparently was friend with both her best friends, "I guess I should thank you for being Sprig's friend, and for taking care of Sasha."
"She's not taking care of me. I'm the older one!"
"Nice to officially meet." Ivy laughed, and her expression made Anne's heart warm, "I have to thank you too, for keeping my sparring partner in check. Do you like being randomly attacked?"
"Huh, no. Not at all." Anne replied, trying to think of something else. "However, you look like an energetic and dynamic girl: would you be interested in a sparring fight?"
"You know martial arts?" Ivy inquired, coming closer to her "Like Sasha?"
"Sasha's martial art style is called Tai Chi," Anne explained with a smirk, "Mine is Muay Thai: less sophisticated, but much more powerful and brutal."
"I'm ready to kick your butt whenever you ask for, Boonchuy!"
"I'm interested!" Ivy looked up, her eyes full of wonder, "You think-"
"Ahem!" Sasha quickly grabbed Ivy, a worried expression in her face, "Maybe we can discuss this on another moment, don't you think Ivy? I don't want to spoil your fun, but your mom is probably looking for us."
"I guess you're right." She shrugged, saying farewell to the others, "Happy to meet you, Anne. See you later, Sprig. But you won't see me!"
Sprig laughed nervously, as Ivy and Sasha left, the latter walking, the former jumping. That is, until he noticed the weird, unnatural look Anne was giving to him.
"Well, well, well. Looks like this Ivy is kinda cute, huh?" She teased him with a "I know now" look.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, well, well, well, well, well, well."
"You're being weird, Anne."
(…)
"You like it! Admit it: you like it!"
"Okay, fine, I liked the ambush, and taking Anne by surprise," Sasha nodded, "Before we arrived here, did you do that a lot?"
"Yup! Sprig falls for it every time!"
"Wait, I assumed this was a generic thing you did to everyone: you do that only to Sprig?"
"Yeah: I did try to involve others as well, but Sprig's the only one who can take it. He is my closest friend, after all."
Closest friend? Sasha thought, what a minute, isn't' this- oh!
"Huh, Sash?" Ivy asked, seeing the human's girl twist in a smirk, her eyes looking at her with an amused, teasing glaze "What is it?"
"I didn't know you and Sprig were that close."
"Well, of course, we are best friends!"
"And nothing else?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," Sasha replied, her teasing smile growing.
"You're starting to scare me."
(Back at the Plantar's farm)
"It won't be easy to do this, and you'll probably have to wait until next season to put this into practice" Marcy spoke up, as Hop Pop silently listened to her words. "Yet, you can change the three-field system to a four-field system. Three quarters of the farm's fields would be used to grow regular inter-supporting vegetables like wheat, turnips and barley, while the remaining quarter, instead of being left to lay unproductive for a whole year, could be used to grow fodder crop useful to feed livestock. For example, you could use it to grow grazing crops that Bessie would eat, thus removing any need for you to buy any fodder at the market, and maybe even allowing you to sell the surplus. Alternatively, you could grow something smaller like some kind of beans I have seen, that-"
"And you're sure this would allow me to increase the farm's yield?" Hop Pop asked, a doubtful look in his eyes.
"Of course," James said, walking back in that moment. "What Marbles has been describing to you, it's a procedure we humans call the Norfolk crop rotation system: since it was invented, it was a key procedure in our Agricultural Revolution, allowing Earth farmers to produce larger harvests while preserving the ground's fertility."
"Just an idea I had, Mr. Plantar" Marcy chuckled nervously, "Of course, if you don't like it-"
"Oh, it surely looks revolutionary!" The old frog commented, an unfamiliar glee in his eyes, "Frog, I wish I could have suggested ideas like that to my father."
"As I said, it will require some time to be applied, but in the meantime, there are already some improvements that can be done to assist the crops: for example, we could cut off he trees near the left fields to give the crops better sunlight and reduce the risk that wild critters might spoil it. Plus, if their wood is good-"
"That's fine for me," Jacob announced, walking out of the kitchen with a large sandwich in his hands, "However, we could try to sell it to someone other than Loggle? Every time I'm giving him something, I feel like he's swindling me out of my money."
"An adventurer's job is never a well-paid one, Jacob," Marcy replied, "At least, until you start dungeon-crawling and bring back some real treasures."
"There are no dungeons in Wartwood! Moreover, that does not change the fact that Loggle's making a fortune out of me! Have you seen his shop? Not only is he no longer going bankrupt, Loggle plans on expanding his shop!"
"Instead of complaining about your side job, why don't you try do your farm job a little better?" Hop Pop grumbled, looking at both of the boys, "The weeding you did this morning, you'll have to redo it."
"What? Why?"
"Because, James, it was poorly done and not satisfying. You have to do it again, and this time, properly."
"It was poorly done because James and I had to do that in addition to our regular morning duties. True, it may not be a good job, but at least we tried to do it, instead of a couple of other people I won't name, who were supposed to do it."
"Don't worry Jacob: as soon as Sprig and Anne return to the farm-"
"We're home!" Anne shouted as the door closed behind them. From the couch where she was laying with Polly and watching a martial art movie together, Amelia looked up with an annoyed look.
"What have you two been doin'?" Hop Pop grumbled, walking to them, "I've been looking' for you all morning."
"Yeah, Anne. Jacob and I had to do your choirs on top of our own. Not cool, by the way."
"Oh, nothing of exceptional. Except…Sprig was totally flirting with a cute girl!"
"No kidding'?" Hop Pop gasped in shock, fully surprised.
"What?" Marcy jerked back on her feet.
"Seriously? Atta kid!" James exclaimed.
"Good for you, Spriggie!" Jacob raised his thumb.
"Guys, please, it's not like that. Ivy Sundew and I are just friends!"
"Ivy Sundew? Nobody move! I'm getting the courtship kit."
"Courtship kit?" James asked, puzzled for a second.
"This is so exciting! I'm going to go get my dating magazines. Be right back!"
"Ok, James, girl shipping overpower beginning. Suggesting a tactical retreat for another sandwich."
"I'm totally in favor, Jacob" the boys rushed back in the kitchen.
"Marcy, can you believe it?" Sprig asked, looking at the black-haired girl.
"Indeed, this is serious! I was betting on Spraddie!"
"What?"
"I need to go back to the shop and tell Maddie about it! Don't worry Sprig, true love will always prevail!"
Marcy walked out, almost tripping for the -nth time, leaving Sprig alone with Polly and Amelia looking at him in silence.
"I don't actually care."
"Yep, me neither. I believe I should congratulate you, Sprig?"
"No! Really, Ivy and I are just friends! We are not in love with each other!"
"Here we go." Hop Pop said, opening a small chest containing a ceremonial hat, some Renaissance-like neck ruff and a bouquet of tall mushrooms. "The Firefly Formal is tonight. It's the perfect opportunity to begin the ritual."
"Ritual?" Anne asked, emerging from the basement with many gossip magazines in her hand. Even Polly and Amelia, from the couch, shared an alarmed look.
"Uh-huh. Only frogs who have performed the ceremonial dance in the ceremonial garb are allowed to be wed!" He confirmed, showing an illustration of two frogs in ceremonial garb with the words "True Love" written on it.
Amelia's glaze grew weirded out: Hop Pop just found out, and he was already planning to have Sprig married?
"Huh. Kitschy and classic. I like it!"
"Guys!" Sprig emerged among them, trying to break it up "Ivy and I are just friends. We like each other, but not in a romantic way! Moreover-"
"Think of the family!"
"Huh, what?"
Hop Pop grabbed Sprig's shoulder, talking at him with an over-excited look in his eyes, "The Sundews have secret proprietary crops. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS?!"
"Huh, no?" Sprig struggled to answer, unsure of what to say.
"IF OUR FAMILIES MERGE, WE'LL BE RICH!" Hop Pop shouted at top of his lungs, a greed-filled look in his eyes.
"Wow. Sooo romantic." Polly murmured, receiving an approving look from Amelia.
"Well, this explains why arranged marriages are still in fashion in Amphibia." The wannabe samurai commented, "It looks like what happened in Celestial Sky's Princess, but more pathetic."
"Uhh! I love these magazines." Anne showed her gossipy and love tabloids "Look, Sprig. It says here: two-thirds of all soul mates start out as "just friends."
"Wait, what? Really?" He asked, looking "And you trust these things?"
"Definitely. Magazines never lie: when a boy and a girl tell each other they are "just friends" it only means they have not acknowledged their love for each other…yet"
Sprig's jaw dropped as an uneasy feeling felt all over him "You think that Ivy could be my eternal love, my soul mate, the future mother of my children?"
"Well, we're about to find out," Hop Pop concluded with a smirk, "Because I already asked her family."
"Maddie!" The bakery shop's door opened all of sudden, and an alarmed Marcy rushed inside. Too fast, as once again she tripped and fell face down on the floor.
"Marcy?" Maddie asked, noticing her "What happens? Today it's your free day."
"I'm here for an emergency. Something terrible had just happened!"
Maddie's expression grew alarmed "Did some magic of yours ended up with unintended consequences? What kind of spell was it?"
"It wasn't a spell: it's worse?"
"Did you botch up with a cauldron?"
"Worse!"
"You summoned a large carnivorous predator bird that is going to eat all of Wartwood?"
"Worse!"
"…what could be worse than that?"
"Sprig, they're going to steal him from you!"
"What." Maddie said, nonplussed.
"Hey, it's Marcy!" Rosemary, Lavender and Ginger said, jumping down the stairs "What happens? Dad said you were not going today."
"I-I wasn't supposed to, but I'm here for an emergency: someone is going to steal Maddie's boyfriend!"
"What? Maddie, you have a boyfriend?"
"I don't!" Maddie replied, blushing visibly on her face, "And you, Marcy, what the frog are you saying? Why do you believe I have a boyfriend?"
"Because I saw how you and Sprig looked happy together -"
"Wait, Sprig? You mean Sprig Plantar?" Rosemary asked in wonder.
"Maddie? You like Sprig?" Added Ginger.
"Ok, let me say this once more: I don't like anyone in that way. Sprig and I are just friends, and even if that wasn't the case, why talk about this now? It's not like we are going to marry soon."
"Sprig is," Marcy murmured, immediately gaining the attentions of all the other girls "Today, Anne returned to the farm telling us that Sprig was flirting with a girl, and now Hop Pop and are all supporting it."
"Sprig, flirting with a girl?" Maddie said, "That's sentence I never thought I would ever hear"
"Yeah. As soon as I heard that, I came rushing here: while I agree that it's too early for getting married, I always supported Spraddie!"
"Spraddie?" Maddie's three little sisters asked at the same time.
"Ok, Marcy, your fears are not unrealistic: Sprig and I take care of each other because we are friends. Besides, even if he has another girl that he likes, why would that bother m-"
"The other girl's name is Ivy, Ivy Sundew. You remember the yellow frog who spars with Sasha and Amelia, and whose mother is Sasha's current employer?"
Maddie stood still, and something stirred deep within her. She wasn't lying when she said she had no romantic interest in Sprig (well, not above the usual among acquaintances), but that didn't mean she didn't cared for him. And Ivy Sundew… she terrified her somehow, seeing how energetic and strong she was.
"Her?" Maddie said, her voice broken by the emotion.
"Huh, yeah? I mean, I know you're supposed to be friends and all, but-"
"Tell me exactly what happened, Marcy! Every word you heard," Maddie jumped on her and grabbed on her clothes, her face right over Marcy's, "Now!"
"Napkins to fold, tea to sift, tablecloths to change…" Ivy grumbled, as she and Sasha worked all over Felicia's tea shop. The morning rush had left by now, and yet, there was so much work to do. Sasha had grown used to the rhythm by now, but for Ivy, it was a never-ending struggle that she could never be used to.
Today was even worse, since Felicia was keeping her and Sasha under watch with a serious glare.
"The reason why you have to redo everything all over, Ivy, is because you did a poor job this morning, just to rush outside. Why don't you take an example from Sasha? She may have started working here just for a short time, but she's already good at it."
"It's a simple issue of remembering the movements to do for every chore, Ivy. If you want, I can teach you-"
"No need for that, Sash," Ivy grumbled, and Sasha noticed some irritation in her voice. Yeah, she knew it was a tedious and boring task to do every time, but why Ivy looked less angry at her mom and the chores, and instead her insufferable glaze was focusing on her?
"I know your great passion for catching those bugs, Ivy, but you can't simply forget your chores just because you're on the run!"
"Hey, this time she wasn't hunting for bugs!"
From her spot, Felicia turned to Sasha, a puzzled look in her face. Why did Sasha look extremely enthusiastic and happy on her face? What did she know, that Felicia didn't?
"Oh, and what were you doing then?"
"Oh well, Ivy was simply…completely flirting with a young cute boy!"
Felicia gasped, and Ivy stopped all of sudden, her face growing pale.
"Sasha!"
"Ivy, you were flirting? For real?" Felicia asked, a hopeful expression on her face.
"No, it wasn't flirting at all! Look, I know that Sprig and I are close, but we are just friends!"
"Wait a second… Sprig? You mean Sprig Plantar? Hop Pop's oldest nephew? Don't go anywhere girls, I'm going to check the ceremonial ball gown!"
"Sasha, why did you say that? Sprig and I are not in love!"
"Oh, is that what you believe, Ivy?" Sasha looked at her with a smug smile, "I know a lot about romance, and I can recognize young love when I see one."
"What?"
"Here it is!" Felicia commented, returning with a kid-sized red dress with a large ball gown, an orange bow at waist level and a large Ancien Regime-style wig, white tending to purple. Seeing it, Sasha had a rush of revulsion: she detested what appeared old and stuffy, and there was nothing in her opinion older and stuffier than that dress.
Obliviously, she was careful not to say that aloud.
"What is that?" The blonde girl asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible.
"This is our family's traditional ceremonial dress for the Firefly Formal. I used to wear it myself when I was younger."
"Wow, you had to be quite younger and smaller." Sasha said, noticing how the clothes looked small in comparison to Alicia
"Oh, no" Felicia chuckled, "Actually, I had it tightened a couple of years ago: I may no longer use it, but I think it will be quite fitting now, Ivy."
"Mom!" The younger frog blushed, "Sprig and I are just friends: why do you and Sasha think that there may be love among us."
"Because "just friends" is only a term you use when you actually like someone, but you're not admitting it yet, not even to yourself."
"Sasha?"
In response, Sasha showed some magazines she had kept in her backpack, all of them talking about topics like dating, gossip, love and similar.
"It says here: more than two-third of all soulmates think of themselves as "just friends" before realizing they are in love."
"Wait, for real?"
"Huh-uh! Look Ivy, from what you told me, you and Sprig are perfect "childhood friends": you grew up together, you played together, you played pranks on each other and you spend most of your time with each other. And in all the movies, books and soap novels I watched, the childhood friends always fall in love with each other and become a couple."
Ivy stopped talking, as her mind thought about what Sasha said: could there be truth in this? Could Sprig be more than her friend and main ambush target?
She shook her head, trying to move that thinking away.
"No way! That cannot be! Just because you say that, it doesn't mean that Sprig is going to invite me to a ball or something like that."
Last famous words, Ivy realized, as a large mosquito landed on the nearby window.
"Mosquito!" Sasha moved to hit it, before Felicia stopped her.
"Sasha, don't. It's a mosquito messenger, and it's got a letter!"
"A letter? From who?"
Felicia grabbed the paper and immediately started to read it, "It's from Hopediah Plantar!"
"Ok, but that doesn't mean anything, right?" Ivy chuckled nervously, "I mean, there are many reasons he could be writing-"
"He's asking us for a date between you and his grandson!"
"What?" Sasha and Ivy gasped at the same time, the former with enthusiasm, while the latter was in shock.
"He couldn't have a better timing: the next Firefly Formal is tonight!"
"Wait, you mean that-"
"Yes, I'm agreeing, on your behalf, for your first date tonight!" Felicia announced, before her focus returned to the mosquito "Well, what are you waiting for? Sorry, but if you want your tip, you have to ask Hopediah: he is the one he wrote up first."
The mosquito flew away, and Felicia turned back to Sasha and her daughter "Sasha, I think the teashop will close a couple hours earlier today: I have to tidy up the clothes for this evening. Can you help Ivy for the event as well?"
"Absolutely, Mrs. Sundew!" Sasha nodded, as Felicia left in a hurry, leaving her and Ivy alone.
"Sasha, are you- are you really going along to this?"
"Come on, Ivy: you wouldn't dare risk losing your eternal love? Plus, I'm your friend now: let me help you, and you'll be the most amazing girl of the night."
"Why, you have…experience on the issue?"
"You sweet summer child, you're talking to a school socialite queen and the most popular girl in the whole school. Believe me: once I'm done…you will not recognize yourself."
"That's not reassuring."
"Jacob, can you believe this?"
"Can I believe what, Amelia?" The boy replied, without turning his back from the war action movie playing on his phone. While Anne & Hop Pop were busy preparing Sprig for his "date" for that evening, and Sasha and Marcy were both outside, Jacob & James, the only two human boys in the Plantar's household (and probably, in the whole of Amphibia) were lazily sitting in the kitchen, Jacob watching a movie while James was preparing a little snack for himself. Both of them were happily enjoying that Hop Pop was so focused on the whole "Sprig dating" issue, that he forgot to make them redo the weeding as he promised.
"That Anne and Hop Pop are basically selling Sprig's freedom in exchange for personal gain and misplaced fangirl-ing."
"Are you talking about the fact that Sprig and Ivy are dating? Why would that-"
"Guys!" Polly protested from over Amelia's cone hat, "They are just friends, they're not dating!"
"Hey, you heard Anne: "just friends" is only the way you say before you end up falling in love with your childhood crush."
"And you believe that?" Amelia almost shouted.
"Well, there is no proof that says friends cannot become soulmates." James nodded, he and James exchanging a high-five.
Polly and Amelia looked at each other, as their doubtful expression turned into full-blown evil smirks.
"Then…when do you and Sasha go on your first date, cousin?"
Jacob almost let his phone drop on the ground, as his blood cooled all of a sudden and a shocked, unbelieving expression rose up on his face, "What? Sasha and I don't like each other!"
"But you're talking, and doing things together!" Polly nodded, with a teasing troll-like expression, "You too, James: when do you get married with Anne or Marcy?"
It was luckily for James that he was not drinking anything at that moment, otherwise he would have spitted out his drink from his mouth and the nose as well.
"What- are you serious? Anne and me?"
"Or Marcy…" The girl teased him.
"Amelia, I do not know how the frog you got such an idea, but there's no way I am ever going to date Sasha! She's nasty, spoiled, authoritarian-"
"She's always been, and yet, you keep hanging around her."
"Look, Amelia: Sasha and I are-"
"-just friends?" Amelia concluded before Jacob did, a smug smile on her face. Jacob realized she got him where she wanted.
"Touchè." Jacob muttered with a groan, James simply nodding in his direction. "Welp, I guess the girls can be a little over-dramatic when it comes to shipping."
"That's an understatement."
"And you're not going to do nothing? Two grown-up boys, one of them a regular troublemaker, and you're just sitting there and doing nothing?"
"Well, what do you expect us to do, Amelia?" Jacob faced her, an irritation plain on his face, "Hop Pop and Anne are clearly taken into it!"
Amelia stood silently for a couple of seconds, giving a side glance to the door that connected the kitchen to the living room, closing it, before looking at the two boys "Please follow us."
The two male teens, while a little weirded out, followed her as she walked out, Polly jumping out of her hat and next to her, the four of them in the farm's empty backyard.
"Ok, Amelia, Polly, what's going on?"
"Though it pains me to say this, Jacob," his cousin said, with a sigh, "I need your help. Or rather, I need your skill and experience in doing something that we'd not be allowed to."
Jacob smiled, his starred eyes looking at Amelia in emotion. James simply shrugged "What, you want us to ruin the event?"
"No, I just want you to rescue a couple of young frogs who are friends and nothing more, without alarming their parents."
"Are you asking us to-"
"Yes, James." Amelia smirked, "If Polly and I help you, could you two take Sprig and Ivy and bring them somewhere else? Give them a proper happy friend time, instead of just forcing them to go through a date they're clearly uninterested in?"
"I think I can do that," her cousin replied, already thinking about it. "It may be a little elaborate, but we can grab Sprig and Ivy and bring them someplace else before anyone notices us. Of course, you and Polly would have to cover for us while-"
"That cannot be done," Polly said, "If Hop Pop and Felicia notices us missing even for a second, they'll catch us right away."
"Plus, we already are planning to distract HP and Anne," Amelia added, "If we're successful, we will buy you a couple of minutes to disappear with Sprig and Ivy, before they realize they're no longer there."
"But they're supposed to be at some kind of ball, remember?" James interjected, "Even if you distract them, the other townsfolk will notice us. How do you expect Jacob and I to be able to sneak in and grab the two friends-forced-to-be-lovers without anyone seeing us?"
"Just ask." A voice said, behind them. Immediately, the four of them turned to see Marcy standing still looking at them with a smirk, a known blue-skinned young female frog to her side.
"Marbles, what's going on?"
"And why have you brought Maddie?"
"Boys, Amelia, Polly," Mar-Mar simply said, "If you're planning to stop Hop Pop and Felicia to forcefully set up Sprig and Ivy, we can help you. You know, there are some spells that can be used as smoke bombs?"
"Mar-Mar, seriously?" Jacob said, genuinely impressed, "You're participating in one of my plans to wreak havoc?"
"Well, I already hacked into the school's PA system once."
"That was you?" Jacob smiled, remembering that day. He expected to be called in the Principal's office that day, and when he wasn't he realized the real culprits had been caught already. Yet, he never learned who was behind that…until today.
"Well, not just me. Sasha led us, and Anne participated."
"Of course, that was Sasha's idea." Jacob shrugged, before his eyes focused on Maddie, "And why do you want to help us? Weren't you the one who was very strict about "never use magic for purposely evil uses?"
"I am," Maddie simply said, her tone of voice neutral, yet somewhat irked, "Yet, let's say that I have my own…reasons to be in on this."
Wait, Amelia thought with interest, does that mean that Marcy was right all along? Spraddie was not a bust?
"Very well," Jacob said, a very familiar rebel smirk blossoming on his lips, "Now, here's the plan…"
Later that evening, the Firefly Formal was in full swing: in Wartwood's dedicated square, brightly lit by several pots filled with glowing insects and bioluminescent mushrooms, several frogs were already intent on dancing each with their partners. The atmosphere, quiet and relaxed, it was very much like a folk festival on Earth.
In one corner of the large square, Hop Pop and Anne were intent on arranging Sprig's clothes, while Polly and Amelia looked on disinterestedly, exchanging skeptical glances at the situation.
"Stop struggling."
"Just a little more. All righty. Cool." Anne said, finishing putting up white powder all over Sprig's face.
"My boy, you look incredible." Hop Pop proudly said.
Silently, Polly and Amelia exchanged another glance: Sprig's outfit didn't look incredible, but ridiculous: the young frog was currently dressed in a uncomfortable, swollen Middle Age-like outfit with minstrel pants with green and yellow stripes, a white ruff, a pea-green vest, and a yellowish hat with aqua-green tufts starting from it. To accentuate the ridiculousness of the outfit, Sprig could hardly move in it, his arms raised by how tightly the vest clutched his waist. Moreover, all that white powder on his face made him look like a theater actor, or an old-style aristocrat.
"Uh... I don't know about this. Ivy's gonna think I look stupid." He confessed, turning around and seeing his own reflection in a window glass, "I think I look stupid!"
"Great!" Anne nodded, almost to reassure him "You'll have something in common." She announced, before noticing Sprig could not hold his arms down "It's fine." She then pushed him forward.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the square, a very similar scene was unfolding right in that moment:
"My little girl's a woman." Felicia nodded proudly, looking at Ivy, now wearing the ceremonial clothes she had shown to her earlier that day. Sasha was walking to their left, a gleaming expression on her face, while showing a different hairstyle: instead of the usual ponytail she used to have, her hair was now freely falling on her neck and shoulders.
"Mom!" The insect hunter protested, clearly unhappy about the situation.
"Come on, Ivy," Sasha told her, showing both her thumbs up, "You look great!"
"I don't look great, Sash: I look like a plump bonbonniere, and Sprig will say it too!"
"Aw, don't worry Ivy: remember what I taught to you, and everything will be fine."
It was then that the two groups, The Plantars on one side, the Sundew on the other, came in visual contact with each other.
"All right, boy," Hop Pop nudged his grandson's shoulder, while he simply gulped, "go get that lucrative business relationship. I mean, romantic relationship." He passed him the mushroom bouquet. "Saved it."
Sprig still felt unsure, but nonetheless, he moved forward (while impeded by the clothes he was wearing) as Ivy looked at him with a shocked expression.
"Hey."
"Hi. Uh... these are for you."
"Oh. Thanks."
"So...you're looking like a... girl frog."
"Oh, okay. I like your, uh, collar."
I can't believe it, Jacob had to stop himself from laughing out loud from his hiding and observation spot. Did Hop Pop and Felicia actually force both of them to go through that? You can see the embarrassment on their faces!
"Jacob, have you seen?"
"Yup, James: apparently, Amphibia's dating fashion is way outdated. Like, a couple of centuries outdated."
"I must pinch myself, because I would not believe this if I was not watching this with my own eyes. At least, Felicia and Hop Pop I can understand, but Sasha and Anne?"
"I guess their need to ship a couple has somehow overshadowed their common sense. It's something we cannot understand, Y chromosome and such."
"Anyway, Marbles and Maddie are in position? I mean, look how many frogs there are: if we jump out without a proper cover, everyone will see us kidnap Sprig and Ivy."
"Don't worry: Amelia will give Marcy and Maddie a signal, and they will use a special spell to create a colored fog-smoke that will cover the whole square for three, four minutes at most. As soon as no one can see, we jump out, we grab Ivy and Sprig-"
"Now that I think about it, if no one will be able to look, neither will we: how do we expect to find Ivy and Sprig in such a short time, let alone run out before anyone else notices us?"
Jacob tried to reply, before noticing the issue. An issue they had not thought about, until now.
"Well, I guess we'll have to recognize them by taking wild shots: after all, I doubt there is anyone else at the ball wearing such uncomfortable and plump clothes. Then, we run straight in the opposite direction, until we can see again."
"You realize the whole plan just became a lot less secure and more dangerous?"
"Danger is my middle name, James."
"Wasn't your middle name Olivier?"
"Hey, I thought we agreed you were not supposed to say that aloud!"
"I'm so happy we agreed on this merger, Hopadiah." Felicia said, as she and Sasha reached Anne and a grinning Hop Pop, "That Sprig of yours looks like a hard worker, and from what Sasha told me, he's also quite skillful."
"Just like we agreed: you'll get Sprig to work at your restaurant, and I'll get the seeds to those Sundew vegetables."
"Work in your-what about me?" Sasha asked, puzzled, "Are you going to replace your best worker already?"
"Of course not, Sash. Yet, you told me yourself you do not plan to stick around. And I must think of my business for the future."
"Bleh, it is an arranged business agreement merely disguised as a romantic relationship," Amelia snorted, "Even Madame Butterly would not be amused."
"Who is this Madame Butterfly, Amelia?"
"Well, Polly, she's the protagonist of a theatrical story from my world. Maybe I'll tell you…some other day?"
"This is so exciting!" Anne smiled with a glee, "I wonder what their ship name will be. Ivig? Sprigivy?"
"You're too late, Boonchuy." Sasha smirked, walking to her side, "I already coined the name for this ship, and it will be Sprivy!"
"Sprivy?" the Thai-American girl asked, her glee growing, "It is short, immediate, effective… it wins!" She proceeded to hug Sasha as both of them squee-ed just like on Earth. Even Amelia, watching from afar, could not help but smirk.
"Shh!" Hop Pop admonished both of them, "Let's watch our little love doves fly. Love doves are birds that mate for life."
"I got it!"
"Hey, what's that guy doing in here?" Sasha added, noticing an already-known newt in a purple overcoat and a black tricorn hat, walking on stage.
"You know him, Sash?"
"Sure thing I do, Anne: that's Albus Duckweed, a regular critic here in Wartwood. He often abuses his position to harass local businesses and force them to listen to his never-ending complaints, and if they rebel, his negative critics can drive down a business for good. He's a regular at Felicia's teashop."
"A critic?" Anne's voice filled with repressed rage and frustration, as long-forgotten memories filled back in her mind. Back on Earth, she learned firsthand how difficult it was to run a restaurant, and grew to dislike the people who often would criticize her parent's restaurants, the Thai Go, over the slightest thing. Some critics were honest, professional people, and their feedback was actually useful to improve the food quality or the restaurant, but many of them were simply determined to find something to complain about, and were impossible to satisfy.
"Excuse me, everybody," Duckweed announced, revealing he was chosen somehow as the event's announcer, "But I hear we have a couple of love doves here tonight: Ivy Sundew and Sprig Plantar. Whoo! A big hand for them. Come on, let me hear it. Hopadiah Plantar says, "Sprig, don't mess this up for us." And Felicia Sundew would like Ivy to "have a great courtship. Wink." It says "wink" here. "Love, Mom." All right, then. Hit it, boys!"
"About time, you kiddies!"
"Mrs. Croaker?" Ivy simply gasped, unable to think. She didn't' knew what was more embarrassing: finding out about Sprig having a crush on her, or having Mrs. Croaker give her a non-verbal full-expression "I guessed that already.
And yet, the embarrassment she felt was nothing like the indirect one a certain fantasy-loving, spell-trained human felt, as she watched the unfolding scene
"He's actually reading that out aloud?" Marcy gasped, hiding on a nearby roof, unbelieving it, "Does he realize he's actually embarrassing them in front of everyone?"
"Every time I think there is no way Duckweed can get even lower, he ends up proving me wrong," Maddie simply said, "Spell is ready, then what are we waiting for?"
"First we need to wait for Amelia's signal. Let's see…"
Marcy looked down, in Amelia's direction, and she saw the cone-hatted girl walking up to Sasha & Anne, grabbing their attention. It was time to act.
"Now, Maddie!"
The blue-skinned frog didn't have to be told twice, as she grabbed a large spell bag, and with the help of an improvised slingshot, launched right in the middle of the square. Before anyone else could notice it, the bag exploded, covering the whole area with a sparkling, blue-like smoke that made impossible for everyone to see even the closest frogs around them.
Immediately after, Jacob & James jumped out of their hiding place, and rushed forward, in the direction where Sprig and Ivy stood.
"Hey, what's happening?" A town frog asked, coughing.
"What is this thing?"
"I can't see anything: I've gone blind!"
"Calm down everyone!" Duckweed urged from the stage, "It's dissipating already, you see?" His words were true, and in a couple of minutes, the smoke dissolved, leaving everyone just puzzled about what had just happened.
That is, until Mrs. Croaker's voice resounded.
"Where are Sprig and Ivy?"
(…)
"Guys?" Sprig said, looking at Jacob and James, "What did you-"
"We were rescuing both of you," the Viking-hatted boy said, "with the help of our witch and witch's assistant."
"Marcy? Maddie? That smoke was your doing?"
"Yup, sorry Sundew, but I cannot allow you to steal away Sprig's happiness."
"Sprig's happiness? You mean…"
"Enough!" James and Jacob shouted at the same time, "We may sound rude, but since we had to carry you both-"
"-and we ended up nose-first in several walls as we did-"
"-I think it's better if you tell each other the truth right now. Sprig, are you interested in Ivy romantically, or not?"
"Well, two-thirds of all mates start with souls? Ah! No, I mean, two-thirds of all souls start with..." he sighed, realizing she hadn't the heart to put in this "I can't do this. I'm really sorry, Ivy, but – I don't want to date you. Just, Hop Pop was so enthusiastic about it, and Anne convinced me this was a good idea. I don't want to hurt you, but-"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Ivy shrugged, feeling relived, "I only went along because I thought you had a crush on me, and I didn't want to hurt you. Plus, my mom forced me and Sasha pressured me into going through with this."
"So…you were not going to take away Sprig's freedom and happiness?" Maddie asked, walking up to Ivy.
"No, of course! Maddie, Sprig and I are just friends, just like you. Or maybe-"
"No." The frog magician reaffirmed, a note of determination in her usually monotone voice, "Sorry Sprig, but I don't see you more than a friend. I came to help you and Ivy get away from that because that's what friends do: they take care of each other! Plus, I always thought she was the scary one."
"Wait, me?" Ivy protested, "You're the one with the weird appearance and making potions in the wood!"
"And you're the hyper-energetic ambusher who attacks me twice a month, mistaking me for Sprig!"
"Ok, what's happening?" Marcy walked up to the boys' side as Ivy and Maddie faced each other in a battle of glares.
"If I have to guess," replied James, "Ivy and Maddie don't like each other very much. Should we intervene, Jacob?"
"Yep, I think we should. Guys? Since we already ditched the formal, how about we go have some fun together…as friends?"
The frogs looked at each other, "I think that's a good idea, don't you think Ivy?"
"Yes! We could go watch some fireflies? They're in season!"
"Actually, I may have an idea for something even better to watch…"
"James, you do?" Sprig jumped up, "You know something better than watching fireflies?"
James smiled, with a glee that would rival Marcy's "Yes, I do…"
(…)
"So, both Ivy and Sprig seem to have disappeared," Sasha commented, checking around "I can't seem to find them anywhere."
Amelia smirked, exchanging a complicit smirk with Polly.
"Ooh-la-la." Anne chuckled, "The little love doves are sneaking off into the woods. You know what that means."
"It means they're abandoning the ritual!" Felicia answered in a worried tone, "If those two don't finish that dance..."
"Then this courtship will be ruined! Along with my financial security!" Hop Pop yelled in horror.
"Wait, what?" Anne gasped in shock, "We cannot let them waste this chance. They say nine out of ten people stay up at night regretting missed romantic opportunities. Nine out of ten!"
"I can't stand and watch my new favorite ship to sink all of sudden! Boonchuy, we have to do something!"
"Come on, gang. Let's get this merger back on track!"
"Uh, counterpoint." Polly intervened, "Why don't we just leave them alone?"
"Yeah!" Amelia grumbled, "They're already together: can't you simply trust them and give them some privacy?"
And for a couple of seconds, no one said nothing.
"Ridiculous."
"Not a chance!"
"I'm way too invested right now."
"Love always win!"
"Wow, it's amazing!" Ivy commented, watching the starred sky all over them, "Sprig, have you ever thought that watching stars could be even better than watching fireflies?"
"Just…one…moment," he grunted, taking off the last piece of the stuffy costume (the collar gorget) and throwing it away, "Done! Oh, it's wonderful!"
"I know, right?" James smirked happily, glazing for a moment to his friends with him: Marcy was leaning on her back and taking notes, while Maddie silently watched to her side; meanwhile, Jacob simply laid on his side, uninterested, preferring the comfortable touch of the grass under him. "My mom often brought me star gazing since I was little, and I still like to do it, from time to time."
He stopped for a second, a tear running down his left eye as the memory of his mother flashed back to him: he missed her, and dad, and his home. Howe long it would have been, before he could see them again?
"Are stars similar to fireflies?"
"No, Sprig." James replied, happy of being distracted by his own thoughts. "The truth is, every star you see…is actually a sun."
"A Sun?" Sprig, Ivy and Maddie said at the same time, surprised.
"Yeah, like the one you see every day. While the one you know is closer, and thus looks larger, stars are much further away, and thus they look tiny. Nevertheless, every one of them is a sun in their own accord, and like your sun has Amphibia rotating around it, they might have other planets too."
"Wait, are you saying there might be other worlds like ours?" Maddie asked, "Other Amphibias?"
"Hey, we are the living proof that life is possible in other places, aren't we?" James smirked, looking over Marcy & Jacob "Plus, look at how many stars there are: if there would not be other living beings out there, it surely would be a lot of wasted space."
"James, look: the jumping Sprig is raising."
"The jumping Sprig?" The titular frog asked, looking at Marcy.
"Yeah, I think I should have told you: since we have arrived, I noticed that the stars in your world are different from the ones we have in our world, and since I could not find any map of the constellations and stars o Amphibia, we decided to make our own. Marcy, you still got the map we were making?"
"Sure thing, Star Boy!" The Taiwanese-American girl said, taking off a large paper with several dots and names written on it.
"Hey, you added a Viking constellation?" Jacob noticed, pointing to a 7-star constellation written on the paper.
"Yup, there it is, Jacob" Marcy pointed to the same stars on the sky, "And nearby it, the four-stars you see is the Flaming Katana, in Amelia's honor."
"And what about you, Sasha and Anne?" The boy teased her "Haven't you added something for your friends as well."
"Believe me, Jacob" James smirked, "It was the first one she suggested."
"The Forever Friends!" Marcy proudly pointed on her map "These constellations always appear close and at the same time!"
Jacob nodded, looking at the stars, first on the paper, and then over in the sky: he noticed that every constellation of the trio had some strange colored nebula on it, blue, green or pinkish red. He found it apt, even if he was unsure why.
"Hey, Sprig, Ivy, Maddie, there are still many stars and constellations that are not named yet: would you like to help us?"
"Hmm. Where are those dang kids?" Hop Pop murmured, looking at the discharged ball clothes they left behind.
"The footprints indicate they were not alone." Felicia pointed out "Judging by the dimensions, I'd say there were at least two large creatures with them. Something…human-sized." She glanced at Sasha.
"Jacob and James!" Sasha grumbled, "The two idiots decided to crash the party! Well, once I get my hands on them-"
Before Sasha could finish off with her indirect threats, however, she heard wings flapping, and bird screeches.
"What's that?"
The group turned around at the same time, and they noticed a couple of blue-grey birds landing on a nearby tree, snuggling against each other like they were dancing. Immediately, everyone was impressed.
"Wow."
"They're beautiful!"
"Just look at them."
"They're a real natural wonder!"
"Love doves." Hop Pop said, shattering the vibes "Don't move, or we're dead!"
"What?" Anne asked, "I thought they were all romantic and mate for life."
"Yeah. And they spend that life massacring all living things."
The two doves turned around, noticing the group, and shrieked, showing their teeth-filled beaks.
"Since when birds have teeth in their beaks?" Amelia said in horror.
"Why," Polly asked, "don't they have them where you come from?"
"No!" Amelia, Sasha and Anne said in unison.
The two love doves launched themselves on attack, doing a small pirouette each (and generating more wonder in their would-be victims) before grabbing them and flying off.
"Tell me, James" Sprig asked, "How old are stars?"
"How old?" He chuckled, "They're much older than anything else you can ever see: stars are billions of years old."
"Wait, billions?" Maddie gasped in amazement, "That's… an enormous amount of time."
"Yup. Since humans existed, stars have always been in our night skies, to guide us whenever we need them. You know that you can use them to orientate yourself and find out in which direction you're supposed to go?"
"That's…amazing." Ivy murmured, "You know Maddie, I guess I should apologize to you: you're not weird like I thought you were."
"And neither are you as aggressive as I thought," Maddie replied, "I guess we were both mistaken in our assumptions,"
"You know what, girls? Maybe we should form a group in the future, and go adventuring together," Sprig said.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!"
"I agree: outside the valley, we could find so many new ingredients for my potions, and help people realize that magic is not inherently evil. And you two," Maddie glanced at Ivy and Sprig "will probably need my magic support, to survive."
"Plus, it would not only be you three!" Marcy commented, stopping for one minute of taking notes and drawing sketches "Polly is not going to stay a tadpole forever and neither are your sisters, Maddie, and considering the training Amelia is giving to them-"
A loud scream made everyone jerk up. Even Jacob & James, who were silently enjoying the moment until a second ago, rose up on their feet.
"What the..."
"What was that?"
"That sounded like..."
Another scream, and the group saw a couple of love doves carrying Hop Pop, Felicia, Sasha, Anne, Polly and Amelia afar.
"Our families! We got to help them!"
"Way ahead of you. Come on, let's go!"
"Charge!"
"Sash, Anna-banana, don't worry! We're going to save you!"
(…)
The love doves returned to their nest, and in a swift, synchronized movement, dropped their six preys, covering them with green mucus-like slime, trapping them on the ground, unable to user their hands to get free.
"We're stuck!" Anne gasped, as the love doves flew away, apparently forgetting about them, "So, they're not going to eat us?"
"Not right away. Love doves prefer to let their prey marinate in fear first."
"Come on, come on!" Sasha grumbled, trying to free her hands pushing on her legs and back.
"Don't strain yourself, Sasha" Felicia looked at her, "It's useless: it's strong enough to keep us trapped long enough for the love doves to return. Hopediah Plantar, this is all your fault. If you taught your grandson proper courtship technique-"
"My fault? It's obviously yours."
"Guys," Anne said, spitting another of her magazines "it says here that our relationships define us, and nothing else. Nothing else!"
"Boonchuy, that's not true!" Sasha looked back at her, "Our actions define us: if someone betrays you and tries to hurt your friend, you can't trust them just because they apologize!"
The four started immediately to talk louder and louder, Felicia and Hop Pop quarreling, Sasha and Anne discussing, as Polly's expression grew more and more unstable and Amelia's eyes started to twitch, irritation and anger building up inside of them…until they exploded.
"Enough!" Polly and Amelia shouted together
"This is all your faults!"
"Say what?"
"Hah, you just delivered the perfect sitcom catchphrase!"
"Can it, Sash!" Amelia glared at her, before looking back at Felicia and Hop Pop, "You two are the reason we're here marinating and awaiting to be eaten by large monstrous birds, because you had to play matchmaker. Hop Pop, Felicia, not one of you was thinking of Sprig or Ivy's happiness: you two were just greedy, using something that wasn't even true in order to push your own personal agenda!"
"Maybe … a little?"
"It's nuanced."
"Nice. Totally innocent for once." Anne said.
"Amelia is right: you two should be ashamed." Sasha recoiled
"Are you two kidding?" Polly faced both of them "Sprig and Ivy went through with this only because of your insane desire to see them together, no matter what, and these dumb magazines!"
Then, Polly grabbed both Sasha's and Anne's magazines, and tore them apart with her mouth until nothing was left but small, unreadable pieces.
"Wow." Anne said, for the first time not influenced by what was written in that magazine, "I feel lighter somehow, more... free."
"Boonchuy, I feel like I can clearly see for the first time since this story even started. Wow, now I feel disgusted about myself… and for the apologies I'll have to-"
"Hey, guys!" Jacob announced, as he, James, Marcy, Maddie, Sprig and Ivy jumped into the nest, "We're here to rescue you!"
In short time, with their help, everyone's hands and feet were free to move and were able to exit the love doves' nest.
"Oh, thank frog!"
"We also want to tell you that Sprig and I don't want to date each other, and we never will."
"We know." Hop Pop nodded in apologetic voice "Amelia and Polly set us straight."
"Look, kids, we-"
"Sprig, I'm so sorry."
"Ivy, can you ever forgive me?"
The moment's mood, however, was ruined by the sudden return of the loves doves, shrieking aggressively.
"I always tell them, "Save the heartfelt apologies for when we get to safety."
"Don't worry, Polly!" Amelia snickered, unleashing her katana and putting herself in defensive position, "I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm in the mood for a fight!"
"Me too!" Jacob got ready with his quarterstaff, "Hey, Sasha, small question: aren't you tired of always have to eat bugs?"
"Huh, yeah?"
"How about roasted love dove for tomorrow's lunch?"
Sasha gasped, as he realized the boy's intentions. Now that she looked at them, she realized both love doves had a lot of meat all over them.
"I guess you know how to make a girl happy." The blonde girl smirked, unleashing her wooden sword, while Anne grabbed her tennis racket and Marcy took another of her potions.
"Sash, you get all flirty for food?" Amelia chuckled, amused by her adversary's underhanded tactic.
"Aren't you sick of eating bugs, disaster daimyo?" Sasha replied, focusing on the doves "On the count of three. Three!"
The loves doves were taken by surprise by the sudden counterattack of their preys: Jacob, Amelia, Anne, Sprig and Polly attacked the male dove while Sasha, James, Marcy, Maddie and Ivy took on the female one. The loves doves, under the relentless attack, hit on their wings, their back, on their bellies and on their faces with stick and wooden items, targeted by Maddie and Marcy's spells, tried to find each other and escape, but they never got a chance.
"Incredible," Hop Pop said, as the love doves fell on each other, defeated by their same would-be prey "Even in defeat, they look majestic."
(…)
"Well, I guess it was a nice adventure, don't you think?" Amelia shrugged, walking forward, the katana in her sheath. In the back of the group, Sasha, Jacob, James & Anne were pulling on the love dove bodies, discussing the idea of cooking them.
"What do you think is the best recipe, Boonchuy: roasted or casserole?"
"I guess we'll have to experiment a little bit to find that out, Sash. Still, they have a lot of meat, much more than our six alone could ever need. Hey, HP: have you ever imagined what these majestic creatures taste like?"
"I never did: it's an unexpected situation, having to deal with eating them rather than the reverse."
"Hey, Felicia?" Sasha asked, looking at her employer and her new best friend's mom, "Would you be interested in being invited as well? After all, you and Ivy participated too."
"I will … consider it. Come along now, Ivy: let's get you home, so I can apologize safely."
"I'm coming with you!" Sasha jumped forward, "After everything that happened, I want to be sure you reach home safely. James, Jacob, I trust you two to take care of the doves while I am away."
"You're just skipping your duties, you-"
"I guess we're going too!" Marcy announced, "Maddie, sorry for the whole thing. I suppose that's what you get when you play stupid games."
"Don't worry about it, Marcy," the blue-skinned frog replied, "I never had so much fun before. Plus, we did help our friends today. Ivy, I suppose we could…hang out more in the future?"
"You stole the words right off my mouth, Maddie!" The yellow-skinned frog smiled, as Marcy and Maddie walked away. "Well, that was fun. See ya, Sprig!"
"See ya, Ivy!"
"Sprig," Hop Pop told him, "I promise you: next time, we won't get the courtship kit out until you're good and ready."
"Love is not a statistic, isn't what your magazines said, Anne?" Amelia teased her, making the Thai-American girl look aside, ashamed.
"I guess now I can focus on finding love for Polly." Hop Pop looked at the tadpole.
"No!"
"HP, haven't you learned anything?!" Amelia came to her friend's support.
"Well, that's the end of that." Anne said, "Now you and Ivy can go back to being just friends."
"Yep." The young frog said, looking at Ivy walking away with Sasha and Felicia. And it was in that moment, that something in him changed.
"Oh, you just fell in love with her, didn't you?" Anne replied, noticing the gleam in his eyes
"Yeah, I just fell in love with her."
(…)
"So, I guess I'll have to apologize too, don't I?" Sasha asked, leaning on Ivy "I mean, it was logic after all: what could you see in Sprig?"
"Well, he's not that bad: he's courageous, and smart, and cute, and he makes my heart flutter, and-"
"Ivy, did you just develop a crush on him?"
"Yep, Sash: I totally just develop a crush on him."
I guess today's event was not a total disaster, Felicia thought as she heard them chat behind them, but after what happened today, I'll pretend to not know it. I'm done meddling in my daughter's life, so I guess you'll have to forge your path for yourself, like I did on my time.
Her hands moved to her chest, and took out a small item, containing a photo of herself younger, smiling with another frog to her side.
…I may have lost you, but I'll make sure our children will be happy, Sally Plantar…