After Maddie and Sprig left the village, they began their journey through the forest. "So Mads, what are we getting during this excursion?"
Maddie looks over her list of ingredients she needs to restock on, "Let's see, first on the list is a strand of hair off of a mosquito's back." They came across a field of puddles where a bunch of giant mosquitoes were seen flying around. "Now if we just-"
"YOLO!" Sprig burst out of the bushes with his slingshot and blinded all the mosquitoes with mud balls before plucking hair strands from all three bugs before he and Maddie run off.
"What was that?" Maddie asked.
"I don't know, but I heard that when me and my family were sent to Anne's world." Sprig said before they ducked behind a rock as the mosquitoes flew by.
"Alright, one ingredient down." Maddie pulls out her list and crossed off the hairs. "Next up we need some wolfrat stomach acid. They're usually found a few ways down from here." Maddie grabbed Sprig's hand and walked off, fighting the tingle she's getting from the contact.
They make it to a clearing, "Wow, I've never been to this part of the woods before." Sprig noticed at the colorful, calm, and serene scenery of the forest.
"It does make a nice getaway from the village." Maddie said, "It's a long distance from the village, so no one ever comes here."
"We did hop a couple hours to get here." Sprig admitted, "And my legs are getting pretty tired."
"I guess a little rest wouldn't hurt." Maddie smiled as she sat down by a log.
Sprig perked up before he sat beside her, pulling out a notebook as he jotted down the forest area around them "Imma make a map incase we get lost."
"Probably a good idea, I tend to get lost a couple times when I'm out here on supply runs." Maddie said as she pulled out "Sandwich?"
"Don't mind if I do." Sprig accepted the sandwich before he took a bite, "Mmmm, tastes better than the thing Hop Pop made for last year's Pot Luck."
"Speaking of which, that's coming by up soon. Gonna make another 'traditional family recipe'?" Maddie asked with air quotes.
"Well after generations of sitting in the shame cage, Hop Pop finally agreed on a different dish." Sprig said, "Trying some of Anne's family's cooking and Earth food, he's deciding one from Mrs. Boonchoy's recipes. Though, I'm not sure all of that are ways to find on Amphibia."
"Speaking of, my dad sends his thanks for telling him about Earth pastries. People have been swarming for ecklers." Maddie pulled the pastry out.
"Actually they call it an, eclair. (E-Clair)." Sprig pronounced.
"Oooo, very fancy Mr. Plantar." Maddie spoke in a posh accent as she brought out her own eclair.
Sprig responded in kind, "Why thank you Ms. Flour, but not as fancy as your elixir infused macarons." Both teens shared a good laugh as they feasted on , "Oh man, we sound so much like the Newtonian snobs that come around to Ivy's mom's tea shop."
"They've been getting busy since the Core was defeated." Maddie said.
"I'll say, our dates have been steadily decreasing in frequency." Sprig comments as he then looks at the ground and sighs.
Maddie sees his growing despondency, rests a hand on his shoulder "You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel like it." She finished up her pastry before pulling out her map, "We still have a couple more things to get before we have to get back home, my sisters get worried if I'm back too late."
"Yeah Hop Pop still gets freaked out when I'm still out adventuring with Ivy after sundown." Sprig replied as he and Maddie looked over the map. Accidentally touching shoulders, which caused them both to blush and pull away.
"This way." Maddie quickly let out and speed walked northeast, hoping he didn't see her growing redness. Sprig followed after, mentally smacking himself for getting so flustered.
"AAAAAGHHHHHH!" Sprig screamed as she and Maddie were being chased by a giant mantis. "What are we getting again?!"
"Some mantis blood!" Maddie replied as they leaped into some bushes, the mantis swung its claw. Only to be caught in a giant trap that snapped its claw clean off.
The mantis screeched, "(AH OHM NOT AGAIN!)" it crawled away as Maddie filled a vial with its glowing green blood.
"This should be enough for the potion." She puts the vial, cork in all, into the backpack. "Alright, one last thing and then we can go home."
"Alright Mad Frog, what's the dangerous and potentially life threatening obstacle that we must overcome for this ingrediant?" Sprig questioned as he dismantled the mantis trap. The screen then clockwised transitioned to show the two on a little boat in the middle of the ocean with an umbrella, "Oh, fishing." Sprig said as he and Maddie held fishing poles.
"Yeah we need the scales from the rare silver belly blue martin, which only comes out every 4.5 years on a specific date." Maddie said as she casted her line.
"And you think its gonna come out today?" Sprig asked as he had his line already casted into the water.
"I've double checked the calculations and everything." Maddie said, "Although in between major climate shifts it has altered the beast's migration schedule, like destroying the moon and the new continent rising so maybe we won't see it."
"Yeah I realize that although we defeated the core, we might have made caused side effects on a global level." Sprig admitted before he caught something, "I think I got a bite!" Sprig reeled his prey in and it showed, "Oh, just a salmon."
Watching these two from their own little row boat, was the sisters of the pink haired witch with Ginger looking through the binoculars. "Any minute now, the sparks will fly."
"Good thing we they didn't spot us." Lavender said as she and Rosemary kept the boat steady.
"Wait I thought we said we weren't following them." Rosemary mentioned.
"Yeah, but its best safe than sorry." Ginger told Rosemary before chekcing back in on the frogs that were enough away for them to spy on without being spotted. "They can't discover their love if they're dead."
"True."