Here we are, chapter two.
I'm noticing how hard it is for me to try and keep these fellows IC in their setting, I keep thinking of Wirt and Greg when I should be thinking of Tadashi and Hiro.
Oh well. I apologize for any typos and for the lateness of it.
Hope you enjoy.
- Mira
Chapter 2: Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee
Leaves adorned in oranges and browns swayed with the autumn winds, a number flying off to be carried away lands yet unseen. In the morning sky, a flock of geese flew high among the clouds, on their journey to warmer waters for the coming winter season. The sky was stained a murky grey color, here and there clouds left dots of white to mix in with the dark mess as the wonderful golden hue of the rising sun slowly made its way up and into the air, chasing out the remnants of the night.
On the ground below, a cricket sat upon a leaf, playing its tune among the gentle swaying of the wind. A group of turkeys walked through the path in the woods, in search of food and nourishment as the cold season was soon to approach. The end of fall had undoubtedly come to The Unknown, caressing the forest with tendrils of gold and brown in the way only nature can.
Along the leaf-covered path walked two brothers, making their way through the clusters of trees in hopes of encountering a village. The taller of the two walked along a bit ahead of the other, seeming to be lost in thought as he stared at the ground. This young adult strode forward, eyes kept on the ground as he rambled on to the trees around him. It was obvious to any that Tadashi was worried about how they could make it home, and as such he had begun to try and think up some way the two brothers could escape from this strange land and return to San Fransokoyo.
Next to him, his younger brother's eyes roamed their surroundings, taking in the breath-taking picture autumn had painted for them. While it was a nice forest, the boy wanted to go home-there was a certain project he wanted to continue working on at home, and his older brother's ramblings were starting to get a little repetitive. Clearing his throat as to get his brother's attention, the teenager spoke up, "So, uh, it's almost morning, huh? I feel like we should have found the town that crazy old guy was talking about," turning his gaze to his elder sibling, he continued, "I mean, we have been walking for hours, and there's only so much of the world that has yet to be unexplored. Hey, do you think maybe we shouldn't have trusted that guy? He seemed a bit...you know," Hiro questioned, moving his finger in a spiraling motion next to his head as to imply the woodsman had been insane.
Really, though, the guy had seemed to have a few screws loose. Not only did he dress strangely, but he went on and on about things the child couldn't even begin to comprehend. Heck, the guy had started rambling to himself at certain points, not to mention that axe he had hadn't helped to make him seem any more sane. Could they really just trust some random guy they had met in the woods?
"I don't know," Tadashi shrugged in response, pausing in his antics, "But I think we should focus on getting back home. Have you been listening to anything I've been saying for the past few hours? I'm getting worried about Aunt Cass," the elder frowned, turning his gaze towards his younger brother's own nonchalant expression.
Hiro frowned at that, standing up a bit taller. Letting out a sigh, the teenager replied, "I don't really know...nothing here even looks remotely like San Fransokoyo."
To be honest, the thought of their aunt wondering where they were, sitting alone in that cafe, and thinking they were missing was something to worry about. The poor woman had already lost their parents, Aunt Cass and the brothers were a family now. There was no way they were going to leave her alone, they had to make it home.
"For now, we'll just have to keep looking for the village the woodsman mentioned," the taller replied, moving forward as to outpace his smaller brother a bit. Tadashi was a good few heads taller than his brother, so it was easier for the young adult to walk faster than his sibling. Not that he would go very far forward. He wouldn't want Hiro to get lost alone out here. If there was one good thing about this whole situation, it was that he and Hiro were together. Tadashi couldn't even begin to imagine how disastrous it would be if only one of them were lost here. Now, where could this town be?
"Help!" a feminine voice called out, pulling Hiro's attention away from watching his elder sibling walk onwards.
"Huh?" he mumbled to himself, eyes widening. Trying to discern the source of the call for aid, the dark haired boy's eyes scanned the scenery around him.
"I'm stuck!" the voice exclaimed once more.
"Tadashi, hold on a second...did you hear that?" the teen questioned, calling out to his brother in an attempt to get the other to slow down. He definitely did not want to end up alone here, but there was clearly someone asking for help.
Stopping in front of a tree, Tadashi was quick to reply with a question, "What is it?" then paused, slowly reading the sign nailed onto the tree he now stood in front of. Mind immediately shifting gears, the college student turned around excitedly, "Hey, look! Pottsfield, one mile...That must be the town the woodsman was talking about! How about we go this way?" the boy read to his sibling, ecstatic at seeming to have found where they needed to go.
"Hold on a second, I heard something," the other responded, slowly turning around and looking at the foliage around him. That voice had to come from somewhere nearby...
"Hiro, wait-" the older began, watching his charge turn and walk away. Watching his brother move around, the boy frowned in thought. What on earth was Hiro looking for here? It wasn't going to be another monster, was it? Tadashi wasn't so certain he would be able to fight another beast off so soon.
"Hello...?" Hiro called out, carefully scanning the various bushes and trees around them. The teen was more than willing to go to this "Pottsfield" for help, but he had to know where this call for aid was coming from. He couldn't just leave someone who needed help, that wasn't that Hamada way. Calling out once again, the messy-haired boy continued, "Hello?"
"Hey, you!" the mysterious voice spoke again, a rustling a leaves following its appearance.
"Who, me?" the teen questioned, immediately turning around to face the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from behind him… Was someone hiding in that blackberry bush? They had to be pretty small to fit in there, unless they were crouching down, of course.
"Yeah, you," the mystery person responded, tone short.
"Uh, someone in here?" the five-foot nothing boy replied, peeking his head into the bush while bending down so as to be able to look around and inside the shorter plant. A familiar bluebird lay in the tangled vine of the blackberry bush, staring at the boy with slight apprehension. Recognizing the anime to be the strange talking bird from the night before, Hiro greeted, "Oh, hey, it's the impossible talking bird again."
"Oh, it's you again," the bird replied, flapping her wings and kicking her feet a bit as she tried to escape from her confines, "I'm stuck. Help me out of here and I'll owe you a favor!"
"A favor? What kind of favor…?" he questioned, looking a bit suspicious yet intrigued.
"Nothing too crazy or anything, I'll just do you a good turn," the female clarified, continuing to struggle a bit as she spoke.
"So, you're saying you're not some sort of magical talking bird that has the power to grant any wish?" the boy teased, seeming to want to continue to prod at the fact that this was indeed a talking animal.
"No, well, yes, but I don't have magic powers. I can just talk," the bluebird replied, a bit annoyed at the other's insistence that she couldn't really exist..
"So you're a robot then," Hiro clarified, unwilling to believe in any sort of supernatural magic mumbo-jumbo. He would not rest until this issue was cleared!
Tadashi came up behind him, curious as to what his younger brother could possibly be doing in a bush for so long. It seemed as though the other were talking to someone hidden in the plant, but that couldn't be, right? Unless there were someone else here with them...but Hiro would tell him if it was someone dangerous, so there wasn't any need to worry, right? The boy didn't seem frightened or worried in the slightest, so he couldn't be facing down another beast.
"Hiro, who are you talking to in there?" the boy questioned, staring at the younger's back, "We really should be getting on our way to Pottsfield."
"Oh, right, let me just," the other responded, easily moving the vines and letting the bird go free.
"Huh?" Tadashi questioned, watching in confusion as the female bluebird from earlier flew out of the bush and into the air, free at last.
"Thanks! I owe you a favor, so, uhm…" she began, the elder brother staring up at her in surprise, "You two are lost kids with no purpose in life, right?"
"Uh...," Hiro raised a brow at that, putting his hand in his pocket as he stared at the little animal. Next to him, his elder brother frowned at the comment. Why would the bluebird ask them that? She seemed to be the same one from earlier, but now she was much more rude.
"How 'bout I bring you to Adelaide of the pasture," she spoke, the sunlight shining briefly for a moment at the mention of the as of yet unmet person's name, "the good woman of the woods!"
Hiro continued to stare at the talking bird with a raised brow, still churning her previous statement over and the fact that she was indeed a talking bird. Something that should not even be remotely possible. Before, when he had freed her, the boy had momentarily felt her feathers. There was no doubt in his mind that they were real, meaning that either she was a truly magical talking bird or she was very well made. At the moment, he was leaning towards the latter. Meanwhile, Tadashi was looking a bit suspiciously at the girl.
"She could help you get home," the girl continued, keeping her voice light and airy.
"Oh," the the taller of the two replied, immediately loosening up, "that would be really helpful."
"I don't know...can we really just trust a 'magical talking bird'?" the youngest of the trio spoke up, still unwilling to let the subject drop, "I mean, magic talking birds leading us to fairy godmothers in the mysterious forest," the boy mocked, moving his hands around as he spoke, "Is this a fairy tale or something?" Turning back towards the path, the child gestured towards the sprawling road, "Besides, I thought you wanted to go to Pottsfield?" Hiro questioned, giving his brother a look.
"Oh, right, we should probably check that out first since we're already here," the man replied, waving his hand in a friendly gesture and following after his younger sibling. While the bird's offer was nice, they already had a lead to follow. If the town proved unhelpful, they could go with her to this Adelaide figure. Right now, though, Pottsfield was only a mile away, it would be foolish not to check it out first.
"What about the favor?" the girl questioned, flapping her wings and following after the two despite herself.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the younger boy replied easily, keeping up his pace as he walked the path, now behind his elder sibling.
"Ugh," the bird let out a groan, but decided to continue following after the two. Something was telling her this would be more trouble than it was worth.
As the trio continued to go along, green fields dotted with pumpkins surrounded by old brown wooden fences began to pop up along their path. The morning fog rolled over the land, the geese in the sky above their heads letting out calls as the sun fully took its place upon its throne in the sky.
"So, why don't we introduce ourselves," Tadashi began, turning to look at the bird as she flew down near his head as to make the discussion easier for both of them, "My name is Tadashi Hamada, what's yours?"
"Beatrice," the female, now known as Beatrice, replied.
"My younger brother's name is Hiro Hamada," the boy introduced, gesturing down towards his shorter sibling.
"Who cares," Beatrice dismissed, having no interest in the names of the two children she was now accompanying.
"Hey!" Hiro frowned at her dismissal of him, then shook his head a bit with a small sigh. He already knew that the bird was sort of rude, he shouldn't really be surprised by what she said. Whoever designed her had really gone for an unpleasant personality chip.
"And, we're trying to get home to our Aunt Cass," the college student continued on, giving the bird a smile, "She's the one who has been raising us for a while now."
"Okay, that's great," the bird replied quickly, "How about you and I ditch your brother," she offered, clearly still in earshot of the child.
"What? No, I would never do that, Hiro is my little brother," Tadashi shrugged her proposition off. Sure, his brother could get annoying with his constant lack of care for himself, what with those bot fights and all, but he would never abandon his family! Continuing on, the teen questioned, "So, uhm, is it nice being a bird?"
"Nope," the girl responded easily, no hesitation in her words.
"Oh," the boy looked away for a moment, seeming to need a minute to decide what to say next after having chosen an apparently touchy subject, "Do you what part of the country we're in?"
"Hm, no, not really," the other responded, "I've just been sort of...w-flying around," Beatrice shrugged, correcting herself midway through her reply.
"Oh, I see," Tadashi nodded, deflating a bit at the answer. Maybe he shouldn't have expected the bird to know where they were.
"So you don't know?" the bluebird questioned flippantly, flying over and landing on Hiro's head as she continued to talk to the elder brother.
"Unfortunately, no," the man replied, "Nothing here even looks remotely familiar to where we're from," he shrugged, chuckling a bit at the sight before him. He had always told his brother that his hair looked like a bird's nest with how messy it was.
"Huh?" he suddenly questioned, a crunching sound reaching his ears as he felt something on his leg.
"What is it?" Beatrice questioned, flying off of his shoulder for a minute in fear of what had startled the other.
"Ah, hey, look at this. I stepped on a pumpkin," Tadashi noted, gesturing to his leg as he gazed down at the mutilated fruit on his foot.
"Aha!" Hiro suddenly exclaimed, not having been listening to his elder sibling, and pointed excitedly towards the sprawling village in front of them, "Pottsfield!" he cried. The child turned around as his two compatriots walked forward to meet him, "See! Now-huh?" he paused, stopping mid-stride as he heard a crunching sound.
Looking down in surprise, the child stared at the small pumpkin his foot had now claimed as a home, "What the-?"
Violently kicking at his foot, the boy struggled to get the orange mess off of his lower leg. It took him a minute, but the teen managed to free his lower appendage, glad to no longer be trapped in the dastardly fruit.
Immediately turning back to face the village as if the last few minutes had not occurred, the young boy placed his hands on his hips, "Alright! This is our ticket to get back home, right, Tadashi?"
"You got that right, knucklehead," the other chuckled, pulling the pumpkin off of his own foot, "Let's go, I'm sure someone there can give us some help."
The three made their way into town, walking down the hilly dirt road and into the silent village. There were numerous buildings here and there, though there was nary a sign of a person that any of the three could see. The early morning sunlight cast streams of golden rays upon areas of the town, illuminating certain areas, though shadows covered the ground behind every building.
"Hello?" Tadashi called out, eyes scanning the area for any sign of another human being, "Is anyone here?" he called out again, raising his voice a bit in case someone did not hear him.
"Hm," the boy frowned, turning his head this way and that as they walked, "Do either of you two see anybody?"
"Nope," Hiro shrugged, turning his gaze to meet his older brother's gaze with a bored one, "Oh, wait, I see someone!" he grinned cheekily, pointing to his elder brother, "I see you, and me, and a talking bird, and a bunch of empty houses."
"...Not what I meant, Hiro. Come on, this is serious," the other responded with a frown, gently pushing his younger brother's hand away.
"Hey, not to be obnoxious, but an abandoned ghost town doesn't seem like it's gonna be that useful getting you guys home," Beatrice pointed out, turning to address Tadashi from her perch on Hiro's head.
Shaking his head, the college student turned around, unwilling to give up. There had to be someone here that could help, and he was determined to find them, Splitting up with his brother, Tadashi approached a house with the door slightly ajar, "There's got to be somebody," he reasoned. "Somewhere…"
Knocking on the wooden door, the taller boy called out, "Excuse me?" he opened the door, peeking his head through the crack, "Is there anyone here?"
Opening the door wider with a creak, the young adult stared in confusion at the sight that greeted him, "...Hello?" he questioned, watching as a turkey rested its head upon the cloth-covered table in the room.
As the bird raised its head, the man stumbled back a bit with his words, puzzled by the situation, "Oh, I'm sorry, uh," he began, eyes glancing from side to side as if searching for whoever it was that took care of the bird, "I'm just looking for a phone," he offered as an explanation. If Beatrice could talk, who was to say that this animal wasn't also able to? From what he had observed, this place had things far stranger than a talking turkey.
The animal merely blinked in response.
"Ah, uh, I'm sorry, I'll be going," Tadashi apologized nervously, closing the door a bit and fleeing from the scene. Well, it seemed as if that was one animal that couldn't talk, which meant Beatrice was likely a special case.
Back inside, the animal flopped back onto the table.
"Did you find anything?" Beatrice asked upon the boy's return, watching as the man strode up to them.
"Unfortunately not. Where's Hiro?" he questioned, noting the absence of his younger sibling.
"Hey, do you hear that?" the teen asked, kicking his legs from on top of the haystack he had been left by behind a building. How the other had managed to find a seat up there was beyond Tadashi.
"Hear what?" the elder questioned, following his brother's pointed thumb to the large barn house a bit down the way from them. Singing seemed to reverberate from the building, filling the otherwise silent air with the sound of human life.
"People!" the brothers gasped simultaneously, looking towards each other in surprised excitement. If they could find someone, they could finally get home! This was their chance!
Making their way down the path, the group of three found themselves peering into the ajar door, watching as a group of what appeared to be people that were covered head to toe in various crops danced around in the large barn. There was a maypole a number of them were spinning around, singing cheerfully all the while, with carved pumpkins on their heads. In another corner, a group of people stood husking corn, in another, people were peeling apples with small knives; off to the corner, two people danced in a circle with a cat, and off to another side, a man seemed to be bobbing for apples, one getting caught in the eye hole of his pumpkin helmet.
Watching all of this in shock, Hiro was the first to break the silence, "What the…?"
Behind them, one of the crop-wearing people pushed past the two brothers, giving a, "Oh, pardon me there," as he passed by. Turning to look at them once he had made his way fully inside, the man continued, "Say, you folks better don your vegetables and celebrate the harvest with us."
"Uh...oh! Is this a
?" the young adult questioned, suddenly realizing the situation. He had thought for a moment there that they had been walking talking pumpkins. The strangeness of this place had him thinking the most odd things.
"I'm not sure what that is, but we are wearing costumes and celebrating the harvest! Pumpkins can't move on their own...can they?" the guy shrugged, then turned to go join in the festivities.
Letting out a huff of a laugh, Tadashi held a hand to his neck, "Hah, no, yeah, no. you're right," he replied. Thank goodness they seemed to have found a fairly normal place. Though the fact they didn't know what a
was meant they weren't Japanese.
"If this is a
, this is the weirdest one I've ever seen," Hiro noted, scanning the barn house.
"You guys find this place as creepy as I do, right?" Beatrice questioned, eyes shifting this way and that as she took in the sight.
"Oh, they're just celebrating their harvest, there's nothing to find strange," the elder child shrugged, "They seem nice enough, and there are all sorts of strange festivals back home," he countered, inclining his head a bit towards the girl. He would take anything at this point, just as long as they could make it home in one piece. Besides, he didn't want to be judgemental of others' cultures!
"Okay, you're in denial, that's fine," the bird shrugged, "But I'm just saying, something feels off about this place."
Over in one of the quieter corners, one of the townspeople turned his pumpkin-clad head towards them, face hidden behind an expressionless carved pumpkin mask as he dug a carving knife into one of the fruits.
"Er, well...maybe I can find someone here who will give us a ride home," the boy responded giving the frightening looking pumpkin man a wan smile. Turning to his younger brother, the man spoke, "Hiro, for now, just try and stay in one place. I'll come and get you once I get someone to give us a ride. Beatrice, thank you so much, but I don't think we'll need your help, you can leave, if you want," he offered to the girl. He didn't want to sound rude, but there wasn't any point in wasting the bluebird's time if they were going home now.
Letting out a sigh, the girl responded, "I can't leave. I'm honor-bound to help you since you guys helped me, that's the...bluebird rules," she gave a shrug.
"Uh, right, well then," Tadashi replied with a shrug, "You two stay here, I'll go ask around," he continued, walking off to confront one of the participants of the festival. With that slight hesitation, he didn't really believe her, but the boy also didn't really care too much at the moment. He had more important things to focus on right now, namly-getting them a ride home as quickly and easily as possible.
"Beatrice, would you care for this dance?" Hiro offered, holding out his arm in an exaggerated manner, as if inviting her to waltz with him.
"No thanks. No thanks, no thanks! I said no thank you!" the bird protested, unable to stop the other as he meandered onto the dance floor of the barn house, a twinkle in his eye. This was the half-Japanese teen's revenge of sorts.
Up above, a large pumpkin head turned to look at them.
Tadashi walked along, hoping to find someone trustworthy looking among the strange mass of people inside the building. As he came up upon a girl, she turned to speak to him questioningly, "Say, aren't you a little too...early?" she inquired.
"What do you mean?" the boy questioned, looking up at her in confusion.
"I mean, it doesn't seem like you're ready to join us just yet," she clarified, looking at the boy a bit closer. No, he certainly wasn't even close to ready!
"'Join you'?" the boy repeated, furrowing his brow a bit, "Well, I would love to, but, I'm just passing through with my kid brother," he explained, shaking his head and gesturing towards the doorway.
"Folks don't tend to 'pass through' Pottsfield," the woman replied, a certainty to her voice.
"Oh...yeah…?" the college student questioned suspiciously, not liking where this was going. This could be dangerous.
"Yeah! It's nice here," she explained, holding her hands in front of her.
"Er, well, we're really just looking to leave here as quick as possible, our Aunt is waiting back home," the young adult replied, frowning a bit at the things this woman was saying to him. Something did not seem right here at all. Maybe Beatrice had been right after all, they should go.
"Eh? What, what? Leave Pottsfield? Who wants to leave Pottsfield?" an old man questioned, using a cornucopia as an ear trumpet.
At the old man's exclamation, everyone in the barn house stopped in their festivities, turning to face the speaker and the man he was talking to.
"Oh, did you get someone to give us a ride?" Hiro questioned, looking around them curiously.
"Let's leave immediately!" Beatrice exclaimed, eyes darting around nervously as the cultists gathered around her as well.
While they were being surrounded, one of the crop-clad people shut the door, leaning against it as to ensure there was no escape for the group.
"We just want to get home, no trouble," the elder sibling explained, standing in front of his teenage brother in a protective manner as the people came closer and closer towards them. Yeah, they really should have left when they had the chance.
As they approached the group, the people murmured to themselves. Why had these children come here? To ruin their party? Steal their crops?
"Uh...what's going on?" Hiro cut-in, glancing around the room once more. This situation did not look good at all, in fact, it reminded him of the time Yama had cornered him in the alleyway after he had won their street fight battle.
"Hiro, you should run, I'll distract them," Tadashi bent down to whisper to his brother, eyes scanning the room for an escape route. There was no way he was going to let his little brother be captured by these strange people.
"Haha," a deep voice chuckled, cutting through the chatter, "Now hold on everybody," it spoke up. The "pole" that the people had been dancing on bent down, a large pumpkin head peering down at the boys, "Heh, now let's not jump to any conclusions," he laughed again.
"Woah…" the younger of the brothers mumbled, staring in shock at the sight. In front of him, Tadashi watched with just as much awe, though he was more quiet about it. Just when he thought they had seen it all...
"Enoch, what shall we do with them?" questioned the old man, gesturing towards the group.
"I-I'm done," Beatrice exclaimed, turning and flying off as soon as possible. There was no way in Hell she was going to deal with this, sorry boys.
"Now let's see here boys," the giant pumpkin spoke, snapping himself free from his role as the pole, "How did you end up in this little town of ours?" he questioned, two thin strips coming together as if they were his arms.
"Well, you see, Sir, we were just trying to get back home to our aunt," Tadashi began to explain, hoping to buy time for Hiro to escape, "We came from the woods with directions from the woodsman," he paused for a moment, "We saw your farms and your houses and we thought, you might be able to give us directions back to our home town," the college student reasoned.
Following his elder's instructions, Hiro's eyes gazed around the room once more. All the doors were blocked, and the windows, few in number as it was, were all much too high for him to jump out of. It looked like the two of them were stuck here.
"Along the way, we accidentally stepped in some pumpkins, sorry about that...And then we heard the music from the barn and, we came to investigate" the boy continued, not able to explain any more than he already had, "If you would like, we could just leave?"he offered. In fact, he really would prefer to leave as soon as possible. That would be nice, yes.
"Now, let me get this straight," the man began, letting out a laugh, "You come to our town, you trample our crops, you interrupt our private engagement, now you wanna leave," he listed, wiggling his strange paper-like arms as he spoke.
"Uh...yes," Hiro nodded, peeking out from behind his brother's protective back.
"When you put it that way..." his elder brother looked a bit sheepish, giving his brother a disapproving look for his answer..
"This one's trying to escape!" the old man returned, carrying Beatrice in his grasp as she attempted to escape and fly off.
"Let me go! I don't know these clowns!" the girl protested, kicking her feet and flapping her wings in an attempt to get away from her captor.
"Children, it saddens me that you don't wish to stay here with us," the giant pumpkin spoke, placing his thin hands together again, "Chiefly because I simply have to punish you for your transgressions," the other tendrils making up his pole-like body began to rise up, wiggling with his words in a threatening manner.
"I told you this place was bad news!" Beatrice spoke up in the old man's clutches, looking a bit squished in his none too gentle grasp.
Tadashi turned towards her, an apologetic frown painting his features. He knew he should have listened to their animal companion when he had the chance.
"So by the order of the Pottsfield chamber of commerce," the creature spoke in a sing-song voice, appearing more pleased than he should be in the given situation, "I find you guilty of trespassing, destruction of property, disturbing the peace, and murder," he hissed out, crawling down so he was face to face with the defensive young adult.
"M-Murder?!" Hiro repeated, looking shocked at the news. Were these people really some sort of group of android-pumpkins then? Had them stepping on the pumpkins harmed some prototypes or something?
"Oh, no, not murder," the mayor-like thing laughed, drawing back again, "But, for those other crimes, I sentence you to…" he began, regaining his posture once more. Tadashi and Hiro exchanged worried looks, wondering what horrible punishment they would have to face for their deeds. After a moments pause, the creature continued, "...A few hours of manual labor."
All at once, the panic melted off of the boys' expressions. Stepping out from behind his sibling, Hiro looked up at the pumpkin man in confusion, "Wait, what? Really? That's it? Manual labor for a few hours and then we can leave?"
Not long after found the boys in the fields, using pitchforks to move around hay and clean up a bit on the farmland. Hiro struggled a bit with his work, almost dropping the fork an endless amount of times and falling over now and then. This was mostly due to his lack of exercise and thin build, and Tadashi gave him an "I told you so" look everytime. The other had been trying to get his younger sibling to get out more, after all. The college student seemed to find it all light work, humming some old Japanese folk songs to himself as he raked at the hay. Beatrice sat on the ground, too little to actively do anything to help the boys out.
After their hay work, the boys were sent to harvest a few pumpkins. Using a pair of clippers, the brothers cut off pumpkins from the vines, loading them into wooden carts pulled by two turkeys. Tadashi did most of the heavy-lifting, though Hiro was able to carry some over with minimal trouble, though he did end up dropping one on his foot at one point and hopping around for a few moments. It didn't very much help that they each had a ball and chain attached to their feet so they wouldn't escape, even Beatrice had one, though that was probably a precaution so she wouldn't fly off.
All in all, the two boys found the farm work to be sort of fun. The younger of the pair leaned against one of the turkeys, watching as his elder carried over one of the larger pumpkins to place in the cart. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, the boy was powerless to stop as one of the turkeys pulled at the hood of his jacket, clucking all the while in amusement. Although the messy-haired boy struggled in an attempt to be let down, the two birds were taller and larger than he was and seemed to laugh at his attempts to escape from them.
By the time the teen would be let down, he would be unceremoniously dumped on the ground, falling flat on his face. Suppressing a chuckle at his younger brother's annoyed expression, Tadashi would help him up and they would continue on with their work.
As this occurred, Beatrice looked around, noting how the weird townspeople were watching them from the cornfields, popping up as if they were cornstalks themselves. Yeah, she didn't like this. At all.
Later, the two boys were picking corn off the cobs, placing them in baskets. At one point, Hiro tried to take a bite out of one, a bit hungry given how they had been walking all night without food. It just so happened one of the villagers was right next to him, and the boy immediately put the corn back into the basket, pouting at having been caught. Next to him, Tadashi pulled corn off of the cornstalks with little to no effort necessary from him, accidentally pulling one back and throwing it so it hit his younger brother in the face, causing the teen to fall to the ground for the second time that day. It would be two of many times.
As he lay on the ground, the boy met Beatrice's annoyed gaze, frowning at how aggravated she looked. It wasn't like this was his fault or anything! How was he supposed to know the townspeople would be weird cultists? Besides this really wasn't all that bad.
By the time clouds were rolling in, the boys found themselves doing their last task. Digging holes. Why the people wanted them to dig holes was beyond Tadashi, but he was glad it was all almost done, the work was obviously beginning to take a toll on his unathletic brother and it was beginning to worry the twenty year old.
"Whew, just a few hours of manual labor and we're almost done," the Tadashi a bit, wiping his brow of the sweat that had been beginning to collect. All this work was really, well, working up a sweat in him.
"And then what are you going to do? Just wander around, this way and that way, through the woods, forever more?" Beatrice questioned from her seat on the ground next to the boy's hole, giving him a dubious look.
"Well..." the other frowned, pausing in his shoveling for a moment, "Maybe we can just...go with you to Adelaide? If the favor is still open, of course," the twenty year old shrugged, a bit disappointed by how unhelpful this whole detour had been. Giving the bird an unsure look, the child shrugged, "What is easiest, I guess...I just want to get Hiro home before..." Before what? For some reason, the college student couldn't remember what it was he was going to say.
"Why do they even have you digging these holes?" the bird questioned, looking down at the other's handiwork.
"Oh! I'm not too sure, planting seeds or something of the like, I would guess," the young adult shrugged off her question, placing his foot on the shovel as he attempted to dig out a particularly difficult patch of earth. It didn't matter much to the boy, just as long as they could get out of here as quickly as possible.
"Hah!" she let out a gasp, "Maybe they're gonna bury you out here," Beatrice suggested a bit too cheerfully, Tadashi giving her a disbelieving look. The people had been nice enough, maybe a bit scary, but definitely nice. They wouldn't try and kill them, there was no reason for them to. ...Right?
"Uh, Tadashi, you might want to see this..." Hiro cut-in, causing the two to turn their attention to the younger teen.
"What is it?" the other questioned, turning to their bird companion a worried look. Maybe she had been right...he didn't like his brother's tone right now.
"It's a skeleton!" the younger boy exclaimed, climbing out of his hole to showcase what he had found.
"A...skeleton…?" the other's eyes widened, his grip on his shovel tightening a bit. No. No way. They weren't really going to kill them, were they? No, it had to be a coincidence...
"Yeah, it looks like it's been here for a while," the fourteen year old theorized, poking a bit at the silent figure in the ground. Beatrice seemed to perk up at the revelation, looking over to see the milky white bones.
"So then, are we really…?" the elder boy questioned to himself, turning to look at Beatrice, "Just to be safe, uh, Beatrice, could you pick our locks with your talons? I...thin kwe should leave now," he frowned, tugging at his ball and chain experimentally.
"Hoh, now you want my help?" the bluebird mocked, seeming unbothered by the situation as a whole.
"I would really appreciate-" Tadashi began, stopping once the sound of music reached his ears. Oh. They didn't have much time now, they had to hurry!
Turning to face the noise, the two watched as the tall pumpkin-headed man came towards them over the corn field, a procession of flags and trumpet music following him. Moving to look at the bluebird again, the boy held his hand up to keep his cap on, "We need to get out of here as quickly as we can, Beatrice, I think that-"
"Time is up!" the boy was cut-off by one of the townspeople, the student turning to look fearfully at the group lined up before them. Letting out a surprised sound, the twenty year old tripped further backwards into his hole.
"Have the holes been dug?" the old man that started it all questioned, holding his arms out in an inquisitive manner.
"Er, yes, they have, Sir," the young adult choked replied, eyes unconsciously moving to gaze back at his younger sibling in worry..
"Splendid! Well then-" the man continued, only to stop as Tadashi cut him off.
"But, er, there were some other things...!"
"Oh?" the other replied threateningly.
"Er…" the the dark-haired male replied dumbly, Hiro watching all of this from the back with great amusement.
"Psst," Beatrice cut-in from inside Tadashi's hole, hitting her tiny shovel against the small anklet on her foot, "Keep stalling!"
"Alright," he gave a muted nod, then turned back, "Well, we were digging the holes, and, er, we thought it would be a nice gesture if we got some rocks out of the way. As farmers, it must be difficult to have so many rocks in your fields, right?" the boy explained, hoping he sounded convincing.
"Oh, yes, I don't think we like rocks," the woman from earlier mumbled to the others.
"No, no we don't like rocks," the old man replied, repeating the sentiment that was now rippling through the group.
"Oh, that's great! So, we were taking the rocks and," the boy continued on, watching nervously as Beatrice freed his younger brother. He could only pray that none of the strange and possibly murderous people noticed this action. As long as Hiro got out alright, Tadashi didn't care about anything else.
"Oh, that's a good idea," one of the townspeople nodded, looking to the others for agreement.
"I'm glad you think so, we're glad to help in any way we can. So, we were getting rid of the rocks, and," the taller male blathered on, turning to check on Beatrice's progress, only to pause for a moment as his brother and the bird flew away..
"Oh, thank goodness," the man whispered, watching as the two ran off. Turning back to the vegetable-people, he continued, "...As long as Hiro is safe, I don't mind."
"So, what happened to the rocks?" the townsperson continued, holding his hand out to signal that the other go on with his train of thought.
"Oh, the rocks! Well, uhm, we took them and, uh, put them to the side, and," the boy mumbled to himself, rambling on and making little to no sense. Honestly, it didn't matter much now. Sure, he would like to escape as well, but by now Hiro and Beatrice had to have already managed to get far away from here, and that was what was important. Unbeknownst to the boy, a bony hand was reaching out of the hole Hiro had left behind him, the skeleton climbing out of its resting place.
Turning at the sound, the man watched in muted shock horror as the skeleton seemed to dance around a bit, free from its hole in the ground, "That is...!"
"Welcome back, Larry!" the old man greeted, the other townspeople walking forward to meet the skeleton.
"He looks exactly the same," one of the women commented, the others beginning to murmur amongst themselves as they pushed to meet their resurrected friend.
"What the…?" Tadashi questioned to himself, never having even considered the possibility that there could be a walking skeleton. So, in the end, had all of this just been…?
The skeleton rolled a pumpkin along its arms, placing the carved fruit upon its head. Leaping forward, the moving bag of bones sat in another larger pumpkin, pushing out its arms and legs to make it appears as if the orange fruit were its torso. All the while, the people cheered on, seeming to find this enjoyable.
Watching all of this in shock, the young adult didn't notice when a skeleton came from his own hole, letting out a surprised sound and stepping back a bit as the thing crawled from the hole and over to the others, taking a pumpkin from his friend.
"They're all...skeletons," Tadashi mumbled to himself, shocked by his realization. Suddenly everything made sense, their strange words, why they wore fruits and vegetables, why they had the brothers dig holes, "...So that's why!" He could almost laugh at the idea. Everything seemed so clear now!
"Thanks for digging up the life of the party!" one of the townspeople said, coming up to the shocked boy.
"What a wonderful harvest," the tall pumpkin-head commented, watching as the other townspeople danced around the fields with their two new additions. Turning his attention back to the half-Japanese boy, the man spoke, "And what about you? You sure you want to leave?"
"Me? Oh, yes, I have to get back to my brother," the college student responded, having jumped from his hole while the others were distracted.
"Oh well, you'll join us someday," the creature replied ominously, turning back to the festivities.
"I…I guess I will," he relented, watching as the other turned away. Perhaps this was the afterlife, then. Some sort of strange forgotten town of the dead...
"Psst! Why are you still here?" Beatrice questioned, coming over to the child from within the grass.
"Oh, well, you left me here so I decided to just deal with it while you two got away and try to escape later," the boy responded, frowning a bit. The bluebird gestured towards his leg in response, and he turned his gaze to follow her gesture. Oh. She had apparently freed him a while ago and he just hadn't noticed.
"Oh. I didn't even notice," he continued sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at his freed leg.
"Come on!" the bird spoke, urging the man to move ahead. She did not want to stay here any more than she had to!
Hiro stood a bit a ways down the path in the woods, pacing back and forth with a frown. At the sound of approaching footsteps, the teen turned to look at his elder brother, face immediately lighting up at the sight, "Hey, what took you so long, get caught up talking to the pumpkins?" he joked, though it was obvious the child had been distressed by his sibling's lateness.
"Are you alright?" the elder responded, breathing heavily from having run so quickly from the "harvest".
"All good here!"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
He got two answers, and they were all he could have asked to hear. Letting out a sigh of relief, the young adult slumped over for a moment in relief before standing up straight again, "Let's try and steer clear from talking vegetables now, huh? Next time-"
"You're welcome," Beatrice cut him off, a smug look on her face.
"...Thank you very much," Tadashi replied, giving the bird a little bow. Maybe now they could go off to the person Beatrice had been speaking of. Oh, wait, given what had just occurred..."Oh, I guess you've fulfilled your promise already. You're not honor-bound to help us anymore," the Japanese-American realized, giving the bird a slight frown. He had really been hoping for her help on getting back, but if she was done, she deserved to go home.
"Huh, I wish," the bird let out a sigh, spreading her wings, "but you weren't actually in any danger with those weirdos."
"Oh yeah...then you can still help us get home! Would you mind taking us to Adelaide's home, then?" Tadashi questioned, face immediately brightening up at the realization.
"'Adelaide of the Pasture', right?" Hiro questioned, having been in thought for a moment after the boys had realized Beatrice would be continuing on with them, "So, is she a 'magical but not actually magic' talking animal that definitely isn't a android too?"
Beatrice immediately flew over to the other, sitting in his messy hair as she berated him. No, no, no she was not an android, and no she didn't know what that even was! When would this kid get it through his thick head?
Taking a moment to collect herself, the girl turned her attention back to the elder of the pair, "Soooo, yeah, I'll bring you to Adelaide," Beatrice continued, "I mean, that's where I'm going anyway."
"Why are you going to Adelaide's?" the teen asked, watching as the bird flew off his head and flapped in the air.
"I guess, in some ways, I'm trying to get home too," she remarked, following after the boys as they began to walk down the gold-painted path through the colorful forest.
"Well, that's not vague at all," the fourteen year old remarked, giving the other a snarky look.
"I don't have to tell you anything," the bluebird shot back, not willing to reveal her past.
Shrugging off their bickering, Tadashi spoke up, "Well, I sure hope Adelaide is more helpful than that woodsman was. While it was nice of him to try and help us, his directions weren't exactly the best..."
The wind continued to blow, pulling a leaf off of one of the branches. Floating through the wind, the golden-piece from the puzzle of fall looked brown underneath the cloudy sky, its adventure stopping short as it came caught against one of the wooden fences surrounding the pumpkin fields.