Previously on Calamitous Intervention
Over in Wartwood, Hop Pop and the Plantars were growing frustrated with Mayor Toadstool's blatant hypocrisy, manipulation, and greediness, which left the town in a decaying state. Feeling a burst of motivation and a desire to make a change, Hop Pop stunned everyone by announcing he would run for mayor, even if the road would be long and grueling.
Quickly gaining the support of the small town and Luz, they headed to the town's Archives where they caught up to speed on how elections work, and quickly learned they would need to campaign across the whole valley just to get enough signatures to appear on the ballot. The next few weeks were filled with long speeches and endless trips made bearable thanks to Bessie and the fwagon. Still, Hop Pop succeeded in gathering enough signatures and faced Toadstool in a series of athletic challenges more suitable for a family wrestling show.
Defying all expectations, he would win the final election and become the new mayor of Wartwood, bringing a new surge of hope and optimism to Wartwood's residents. Toadstool refused to accept his loss, claiming the election was rigged, but everyone else had none of that and drove him out of the town for the time being.
As Hop Pop celebrated by dancing with the love of his life Sylvia, he had yet to figure out how busy he would be once he became mayor, or how much time would he still have with the children and Luz. That would still be at least a few days away.
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Wally and Luz
It felt like just a few minutes since everyone was celebrating Hop Pop becoming the new mayor of Wartwood, and since he was likely the first frog mayor, this was a really big deal. Toadstool and Toadie had unsurprisingly gone missing after they fled, but nobody really gave them much thought.
As Hop Pop was smiling and waving toward the enthusiastic crowd, an assistant frog cleared his throat and gestured for him to follow him behind the curtain, presumably to start registering and filling out the process now that he was officially mayor.
"Well, you certainly caught me in the middle of my dang celebration. What seems to be the matter?" the old frog asked.
"Now that you're officially mayor, congrats on that," the assistant began, his voice slightly lowering. "it is time for you to start filling out paperwork and legal documents to register for your new job. We should head on over to City Hollow for the time being. Oh, and you should also decide what to do with your kids. It's gonna be a long night."
"Heh, certainly saw that one coming," Hop Pop wistfully fired back, his joking voice mostly concealing his sudden realization of his new responsibilities. "I can talk to Luz and the others and see where they'll be staying tonight. They'll probably get bored at my office real quick, and they most definitely need some sleep."
"You do you," the assistant simply replied as he got up and began walking away. "I'll be outside the entrance once you're done."
After he stood silently for a few moments before sighing, Hop Pop went back to business as he slowly approached Luz, who was still squealing in delight and excitement at his victory.
"Hey Luz, I gotta bit of a favor to ask of you," he began.
"Yeah?"
"Right now they want me to go into City Hollow and start filling out paperwork and registering legal documents and whatnot, and it looks like it's gonna take me all night. Someone still needs to look after Sprig and Polly, and I know you're just dying for sleep at this point. Would you mind taking the kids home and spending at least tonight alone on our farm?"
After a bit of deliberation, Luz accepted. "Of course, Hop Pop. Put everything about your new job ahead of you; I'll look after them as best as I can. Plus, I get to stay home alone!" she finished excitedly, almost letting herself get too ahead of herself.
"Very well then. I'll head outside to meet somebody and go from there while you bring the kids home," the old frog smiled as he began walking away, too.
Feeling the most excited she'd been in possibly weeks, Luz headed up to Sprig and Polly, who were not far away from her table and were obsessively consuming whatever candy or drinks the club was offering.
"Hey, you meowing milkmaids! What if I told you we're gonna go to the Plantar house and spend the night, alone?" the human asked with a tinge of invitation, trying to make it sound as fun as possible.
"Huh? Is Hop Pop gonna be too busy tonight?" Sprig asked.
"I get to stay up all night drinking lime juice!" Polly shrieked in delight, feeling like she was on top of the world.
Not paying attention to Polly, Luz responded after a slight pause. "Yeah, he needs to go to City Hollow and fill out some paperwork, so he's trusting me to look after you two in our house. But hey, you get to stay up all night if you want!"
The Plantar children agreed, and they followed Luz as she headed out and took a short walk back to the family farmhouse. As it was already pretty late, there was barely any moonlight and Luz was too exhausted to consider seriously staying up. Still, she trusted that Sprig and Polly wouldn't destroy the house and opened the front door leading inside. She didn't even pay attention to what they would say or do as she dashed upstairs to Hop Pop's bedroom and quickly crashed out on his bed. It was certainly a nice departure from her makeshift bed down on the basement floor.
Meanwhile, as Hop Pop was led by the assistant frog into City Hollow, the two walked into its main hall and turned on the lights. Right away it was clear where some of the town's much-needed budget was going as giant, tacky self-indulging statues of Toadstool lingered at every corner.
Now that he was officially mayor, Hop Pop hadn't really thought much about what he'd do or how busy he'd be after the election. All this time, he was so focused on his campaign and giving speeches that he didn't know where to start once his term began. Luckily, he had Luz's help. Bless that girl. She had worked tirelessly for him and been by his side from the beginning, so he insisted she rest for a few days as a break. Even though she argued against it, she realized it was best to relax after so much work. However, that didn't stop the girl alongside the kids from visiting him multiple times a day to check up on how he was doing.
Hop Pop had woken up at the brink of dawn, realizing he was still at his desk and likely passed out in the middle of doing paperwork. His new surroundings and lavishly adorned room still felt alien to him, as he was otherwise used to relaxing and working in the aging yet welcoming walls of the Plantar farm.
Adjusting to this new routine felt tiring, and he had no idea how Toadie did it. Of course, he still did it somehow, all while Toadstool lazed around doing nothing but talking about Toad supremacy or whatever. Hop Pop quickly lost track of time and focused on gradually bringing the town back from the brink of ruin.
A while later, he heard a knock at the door, and without looking, he called, "Come in." Shortly after, the door swung open to reveal none other than Luz, Sprig, and Polly. Hop Pop had Sylvia watch over them for a bit, but unfortunately, his girlfriend had other responsibilities, such as helping her family at Felicia's. That left them with no choice but to stay alone at the Plantar farm for a night, and while he still trusted Luz, he silently prayed to Frog that the house was still in one piece.
"Hey, how have you been, Hop Pop?" Luz greeted as she sat down from across the old frog. "Settling in okay?"
"Yeah, about as good as you'd expect," he murmured, signing another slip of paper and setting it to the side. "It's ridiculous just how much Toadstool ignored Wartwood. Our town's even messier than I first thought."
Luz was about to speak, but Hop Pop raised his hand to stop her. "And no, Luz. I can handle it myself. Besides, I already have an assistant." As if on cue, a flying blue beetle came through the window, dropping a rolled-up letter on the desk. Hop Pop rubbed its head affectionately as it left just as soon as it arrived.
"Wait, is that your assistant?" Sprig asked incredulously. "A beetle?"
"That isn't just any beetle," Hop Pop corrected him with a chuckle, picking up the letter and unrolling it. "His name's Jeremy. Because he was such a good boy finding my way back, he's agreed to become my assistant. He's been a huge help."
Without another word, the old frog opened the letter and his eyes darted through it, reading it. As time went on, his face scrunched up in irritation. "Looks like Wartwood has owed a ton of money to Lily Paddington for two years now. Great, one problem at a time…" He started murmuring to himself. "First course of action, I need to have the schoolhouse repaired. Our town's ranked second to last in education, for crying out loud!"
"Wait… Does that mean I have to go back to school?" Sprig asked worriedly.
"Yes, it does," Hop Pop said emphatically. "You need to get an education."
"I'd rather keep working on the farm," Sprig mused. Hop Pop gave him an annoyed look.
Shaking his head to get himself out of it, Hop Pop then glanced up at the kids. "Ah, right, I've been meaning to tell ya three somethin'. Since I won't be around to watch over you for a while, I've spoken with Felicia, and she's agreed to let you spend most of your time over at the tea shop for the time being. You'll need to help her with chores, but it'll be safer there."
Silence followed his words, until what he said clicked in the kids' minds, and they all exclaimed, "WHAT?!"
"I—I mean, it's awesome to get to see Ivy a lot more often, but what about the house?" Luz asked worriedly.
"Will Bessie be okay?" Sprig chimed in.
"Will we get free food?" Polly added unhelpfully.
The old frog sighed, rubbing his temples, feeling an oncoming headache. "Okay, okay, let's calm down. The house will be fine. Bessie is okay, and Sadie's watching over her and the house. She can maintain the crops pretty fine. Look, kids, I really don't like having to work here all day by myself, but it's the only way I can focus on my job." He didn't mention the fact that he'd been looking forward to doing a family fishing trip with the kids and Sylvia, but he had to cancel those plans since he was too busy for that.
Luz nodded, already having seen this coming. "It's okay, Hop Pop. We'll be fine. And hey, it never hurts to hang out with Ivy some more. I haven't seen her much lately."
Sprig shrugged, going along with it. "Sounds good to me. It's a change of pace, too."
Hop Pop let out a sigh of relief as he signed yet another paper. "Thanks, kids. Alright, head to the tea shop. Luz, I'm sure you and Felicia can come to an agreement about brewing potions there."
Without another word, Luz, Sprig, and Polly left Hop Pop to do his mountain of paperwork. The human couldn't help but feel bad for him, but they both knew what they were getting into. It wasn't too long of a walk before they reached the tea shop. It was quite busy for lunch by the looks of things, so it took a few minutes for Luz to get Felicia's attention, who was attending to different tables.
"Ah, there you three are," Felicia greeted with a smile, noticing the Plantars as she was heading to the kitchen. "Good timing." Without warning, she shoved baskets of rolls in their arms. "Take these to tables two and ten, please. Help would be very appreciated."
And just like that, with no prior warning, they were immediately thrown into work alongside Ivy to lighten the load off of Felicia's shoulders so she had more time to help Sylvia in the kitchen. The Plantars were scrambling around like headless chickens, trying to keep up with the demand. Thankfully, things started to slow down with their help, and they could finally talk to each other.
"Ugh, how do you do this every day?" Polly complained to Ivy, riding on Sprig's shoulder to help carry a teapot. When Sprig was carrying a basket of sun beanies to a table on the other side of the restaurant, she was half-tempted to dive in and take them all for herself, but managed to restrain herself at the last second.
"You get used to it after a while," Ivy replied, trying to suppress a laugh at their exhausted expressions. "It's not as bad as you think."
When some new customers took the places of the previous, Luz quickly had to learn how to take orders. Thankfully, it wasn't as hard as she thought it'd be, but it was certainly nerve-wracking. She did not want to be doing this, but thankfully, at least the frogs liked her now, so at the end of the day, it was actually kind of enjoyable to interact with so many people who didn't see her as some kind of weirdo, unlike back home.
Finally, after an entire hour of this, the Plantars and Ivy finally had the chance to sit down at a booth and catch their breaths, though the latter seemed unphased. "It's usually not this busy," Ivy revealed, much to their slight relief. Luz figured that maybe people were still celebrating Hop Pop's victory over Toadstool, which she could understand. She'd only been here for a couple of months, but she could only imagine how the residents must've felt dealing with him for years.
As a token of appreciation for their help, Felicia got them a couple of baskets of sprouty sun beanies on the house, which they all happily enjoyed. Luz had tried time and time again to get Ivy to reveal to her the secret recipe, but she never did. Either she didn't because it was a closely guarded family secret, or she really didn't want Luz to know what it was made with.
"Well, since that's out of the way, how have you guys been?" Ivy asked, breaking the silence. "I heard Hop Pop became mayor. Congrats!"
"Thanks," Luz replied with a grin. "I know he will make a great mayor. Just a shame he won't be able to see us much."
"Eh, I'm sure things will slow down once he's cleaned up the mess Toadstool left behind," the young frog assured her, patting her back comfortingly. "I imagine the toads aren't too happy about it."
"Yeah, that's been in the back of my mind lately," Luz murmured, gaining a contemplative expression. "They were already pretty angry with us after we refused to pay taxes, but now that Hop Pop's mayor? We'll need to be careful."
"I doubt the toads are stupid enough to attack us," Polly chipped in. "We've got the support of the other three towns, don't we?"
Everybody stared at her in surprise, and she narrowed her eyes. "What? I'm not dense, just 'cause I'm a baby! I'm smart!"
"Anyway, I don't think it's anything we have to worry about right now," Ivy continued. "I already have enough on my plate hearing Grandma always talking about her precious Hoppy 24/7."
Despite her worries, Luz couldn't help but coo at the thought. "Oh my gosh, they are so cute together!" she gushed, and Sprig and Polly just groaned.
"Please don't get her started again…" Sprig muttered, leaning his chin on the table exasperatedly.
"Oh, come on, I'm not that bad," Luz protested with a slight pout.
"You're not wrong," Polly agreed. "Not as bad as Sprig is talking about that weird comic thing you showed him."
Sprig glanced at her with a betrayed expression. "But you sounded so interested! That was after I finished the series. I still want to know what happens next in MSA!" he said.
"Okay, okay, let's calm down," Ivy said with a chuckle before the argument could escalate. "So, I had an idea of a game we could play now that we have four people. You guys wanna go out for a bit?"
Luz shrugged, interested in whatever she was planning. "Sure thing. We haven't hung out in a while."
"I'm down," Sprig chimed in.
"Can I use my club?" Polly asked, pulling a large club out of nowhere—one that she had gotten from the secret basement back home.
"No," the other three said simultaneously, and Polly stuck her tongue out at them.
"Well, that settles it." Ivy grinned. "Hey, Mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?" Felicia replied, gathering some dirty dishes from the vacant tables.
"Can me and the others go out for a bit? Promise I'll be back in an hour," the young frog requested with a pleading expression.
Felicia paused, thinking about it, before shaking her head. "Ivy, you still have your tea lessons for today. We need to improve your table settin' skills. I thought you knew this already."
Ivy groaned and looked down, looking dejected and irritated. Seeing this, Sylvia cleared her throat. "I'm sure just one time wouldn't hurt, dear," she told her daughter. "You should learn to lighten up a bit."
"Mother, I…" Felicia faltered at Sylvia's words. Ultimately, she let out a resigned sigh. "Okay, fine. The kids can go out, but I expect nothing less than the best from you later, young lady," she said to Ivy.
Satisfied, Ivy nodded, glad to have Sylvia on her side. "You got it. Promise I'll be on my best behavior when I get back," she promised. She hated doing those tea lessons, but at least they were manageable, though they had been becoming more frequent lately. What was her mother trying to prove?
Deciding not to think about it, Ivy gestured for the others to follow her as they left the tea shop. Luz couldn't help but admit to herself that as soon as Toadstool left Wartwood, she felt lighter, as if she didn't have to worry about running into the guy constantly.
Soon, they left Wartwood and headed down the road, occasionally moving out of the way of some passersby on snails. The four of them headed into the nearby forest, close to Maddie's hideout. That part of the forest was a lot quieter and secluded, minimizing the chances of them being attacked out of the blue.
"So, anyway, now that we're here…" Ivy grinned, pulling out four wrapped pieces of candy—two red and two blue. "We're gonna be playing Capture the Flag! Or… Capture the Candy. Whichever team wins will win the candy. It'll be 2v2. Luz and Polly will go against me and Sprig, and no using magic, Luz."
"What?! That's totally unfair!" Polly complained. "Who said you could decide the teams?"
"I wouldn't underestimate Luz if I were you," Sprig said to her. "Plus, you're pretty scary on your own. I'd say it's a fair fight." The human couldn't help but beam at that compliment.
"The boundaries for the game go from here to the massive tree over there," Ivy explained, pointing to a particularly large tree covered in mushrooms that towered almost every other one in the forest. "That tree is also where we'll be guarding the candy while you guard yours here. Any questions?"
"Are you sure I can't use my club?" Polly tried again, really wanting to use her new weapon, but one disapproving look from Ivy shot her idea down.
When nobody else spoke up, Ivy nodded. "Alright, that settles it. Luz, you'll launch the signal to begin the game. Let's go, Sprig." The two of them leaped up into the trees and leaped across the branches with practiced agility, leaving the human and Polly alone.
"Well, since I don't have legs like you, I'll stay here," Polly said as she hopped in front of the candy. "Let them come. They don't stand a chance against me!" She briefly glanced at the candy, feeling her mouth water, but she didn't give in to temptation. She may have a candy problem, but she wanted to earn it this time.
"Sounds like a plan," Luz agreed, setting her pouch of potions aside to lighten the weight on her since she couldn't use them during the game, anyway. After a minute, making sure to give Sprig and Ivy plenty of time to prepare, she grabbed a weak curse from the pouch and threw it as high as she could.
It burst into a cloud of pink smoke, creating a loud pop that scared many creatures away, signaling the beginning of the game. Luz headed into the forest from the side, preparing to flank her opponents while also getting a view of the middle. She wasn't a very athletic person, but now that she had been running away from dangerous creatures more than she expected these past months, she had built up a lot of stamina and leg strength.
The strange part is how easy it was to get to the other side of the forest, seeing nothing around her. Sprig and Ivy were a lot stealthier than she first thought, or she was just blind. Luz darted behind one tree after another, watching her back with caution as she slowly approached the giant tree.
Finally, she reached the enemy territory and peeked her head from behind another tree, spotting the two pieces of candy lying in the middle of the clearing. This was too easy! Before she could take another step, however, her instincts screamed at her, and she instinctively ducked, only narrowly missing two rocks striking the tree next to her.
Luz leaped back, her eyes darting around but seeing nobody. "Come out! I know you're watching me!"
"You're so close. You need to keep your head low," a familiar voice said behind her. "The candy's unguarded."
Luz nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, that's right. Maybe if I blend in with the grass…" She was about to move but then paused, realizing that voice wasn't in her head. Sweating, she slowly turned around to see Sprig with a smug smile, aiming his slingshot at her.
"You've really gotta work on your stealth skills," he commented, getting closer. "Now surrender, or face my wrath!"
Meanwhile, Ivy was hopping across treetops toward the opposite side with little effort. She had left Sprig to guard the candy while she went out to steal the enemy's. She had a feeling that Polly was going to be the one guarding the candy, considering her restricted mobility. Even though she was only a tadpole, Ivy had seen just how scary she could be, but she had a feeling she could still win.
Reaching the edge of the clearing, she peered down, and sure enough, Polly was sitting there with a bored expression on her face, not noticing her. Ivy smiled and crouched down. This was going to be a piece of cake. She took a few steps back before darting forward and leaping from the branch as high as she could, falling toward Polly from above, ready to immobilize her.
Polly, meanwhile, was drawing circles on the dirt, bored out of her mind. She was unaware of Ivy falling toward her back. Finally having enough of this, she threw her arms up in exasperation. "Where is everyone?!"
Ivy was just about to crash into her when she threw her arms up, and one of Polly's flippers nailed her in the face, throwing her off and sending her tumbling into the ground. "Ow!" she groaned and raised her head, wiping the dirt off of it and looking at a bewildered Polly. "How did you know I was there?! And how are you so strong?!"
Polly's eyes were as wide as quarters before she cleared her throat, playing along with her assumption. "You think you can fool me?! I am ten steps ahead of you, Ivy!" she proclaimed, ready to fight her opponent. "You will take this candy over my dead body!"
Back to Luz and Sprig, the former was sweating, knowing she did not want to be pelted in the face. A desperate thought then popped up into Luz's head, and she gasped, pointing behind Sprig. "Oh, my gosh! Is that Maddie in a dress?!"
Sprig's eyes widened, immediately falling for it and looking behind him. "Where?!" he replied, his eyes darting around. Luz bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. He was so obvious. Taking the chance, Luz grabbed him by the leg and threw him away with all her strength before dashing into the clearing toward the candy, ready to grab it and run.
Right before she took it, Sprig tackled her from the side, almost knocking her over. While Luz was physically stronger than him, he still made it incredibly difficult to get any closer. Every time she managed to run past him, his tongue would wrap around her ankle, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. This was getting nowhere.
"That was a dirty trick, but you won't fool me again!" he confidently stated and pulled out one of Luz's curses, winding his arm back and preparing to throw it at her.
"Hey! Ivy said no magic!" Luz protested, sweat going down her face.
"She only said you couldn't use magic. I took this while no one was watching," Sprig said with a grin, throwing the curse at her full force. Luz barely dove out of the way when it hit a mushroom, causing a mouth and sharp teeth to appear on it.
The human's eyes darted around for a solution until they landed on a familiar glowing plant. Reaching over, Luz grabbed it, crushed it in her hands, and threw it into Sprig's face, causing a cloud of green smoke to appear. She was familiar with it, as it was one of her potion ingredients. Breathing it in wasn't harmful, thankfully, but Sprig's skin would be incredibly itchy as a side effect for the next half hour.
Sprig coughed, scratching his itchy skin. Luz took the chance to dash toward the unguarded candy and grabbed them, running into the forest. By the time Sprig managed to see his surroundings again, Luz was already gone, along with the pieces of candy. "Dang it! I am so getting her back for this!" he groaned, scratching his back against the nearest tree.
Meanwhile, Ivy leaped forward, trying to grab Polly once again, but the tadpole rolled out of the way while holding the candy in her arms. "Nice try, sister, but nobody takes my candy away from me!" Polly exclaimed, setting the candy behind her and guarding it.
"We'll see about that!" Ivy said with a challenging smirk, approaching her. "Guess it's really like taking candy from a baby."
Polly narrowed her eyes and yelled, launching herself toward her opponent. Ivy grunted in surprise as the tadpole pulled on her hair strands, trying to make her lose balance. In retaliation, Ivy reached up and grabbed her, forcing the tadpole off her. Ivy was about to send her away, but the large puppy eyes Polly gave her made her falter.
Seeing her distraction had worked, Polly grinned and leaped up from the frog's grasp, whacking Ivy in the face with her hand. While it didn't hurt that much, it did surprise her. The tadpole then leaped back, and her mouth began inflating and gurgling. Ivy's eyes widened at this as the record spitter prepared to fire at her. "Uh oh."
Polly sent a glob hurtling toward her quickly, and Ivy was barely able to dodge out of the way. The tadpole took this chance to go toward the candy and grab it, hopping away with it in her arms. "So long, sucker!" Polly exclaimed with a laugh. "You ain't getting this!"
She only made it a short distance before a hand wrapped around her and picked her up with ease. Polly's grin faded as Ivy plucked the candy from her arms with a laugh. "Nice try, Polly."
Polly tried to wiggle out of her grip but failed, groaning. "You ruined my moment!" she complained. "I almost escaped!"
"You only made it a meter," Ivy corrected her, patting her head after setting her down. "Looks like this game is ours."
Polly grimaced, but then she looked behind Ivy and couldn't suppress a smirk. "Oh, really?"
Ivy's smile faded, and she looked just in time to see Luz running from the forest with her team's candy. The human ran to the center and plopped down the stolen pieces of candy in the middle. "Score!" she shouted in glee, and just like that, she and Polly had won the game.
Ivy's jaw was slack while Sprig shortly appeared in the clearing as well, scratching his cheek. "Sorry, Ivy. She got me good," he said.
With a smug grin, Polly raised her hand toward Ivy. "The candy, please." Ivy rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the tadpole before handing the two pieces of candy to her.
"Alright, I know when I've lost," Ivy said with a chuckle as she rested, still catching her breath. "Seriously, I'm scared to find out how much you'll kick my butt when you become a frog, Polly."
The four of them sat down next to each other, relaxing. Even though she won, Luz decided to split the candy between them, so each of them had one piece, despite Polly's protests. While they were each savoring the taste of the candy, Luz noticed something in the corner of her eye and paused, glancing to the left to see a glowing blue butterfly heading behind the trees.
She had never seen a butterfly like that in Amphibia before, but she disregarded it. That was, until she saw a strange shape moving through the trees, briefly startling her. The others hadn't noticed, but she did, and she wanted to investigate it. It looked different from anything she had ever seen before.
While Sprig, Polly, and Ivy were busy conversing, the human stood up, intrigued as she slowly headed in the direction of the creature, trying to be as quiet as possible to not be caught by whatever was there. She saw a tall figure, and her eyes widened, getting closer to make out its appearance.
When she saw it, she froze, stunned by its appearance. It was a large, humanoid figure covered in moss and flowers, illuminated by the sun's rays poking through the trees. It had two glowing blue eyes, and what looked to be two small trees served as its antlers. Around it, many of the same butterflies Luz saw just moments ago flew, attracted to its presence.
What this thing was, Luz had no idea, as she hadn't seen it documented anywhere. It didn't look like it belonged in Amphibia alongside all the killer mantises, birds, and other crazy bugs. She found herself slowly approaching it, entranced by it.
The moss creature noticed her and froze, but it didn't run away. Instead, it regarded her with an air of curiosity and caution. It didn't seem to perceive Luz as a threat. At least, that was until she accidentally stepped on a twig, alarming it and causing it to scamper away. Luz's eyes widened, and she tried to chase it. "Wait! I'm friendly!" she called after it, but it was faster than her and quickly lost her.
Luz stopped, disappointed. What was that creature? Now that she had seen it, she really wanted to befriend it, but it was gone, and there was no telling where it had gone. Regardless, she made a mental note to document it while its appearance was still fresh in her mind. Luz stood there, trying to process everything until she heard rustling behind her. She spun around and saw Sprig, Ivy, and Polly.
"There you are!" Sprig said, looking a bit confused and concerned. "We didn't see you leave. What were you doing?"
"Well, uh… I don't know if you guys will believe me, but I just saw a beautiful creature!" Luz said. She pulled out a notebook and pencil from her bag, drawing what she had seen in detail. "It was made of moss and was surrounded by butterflies. I don't know what it is, but it ran off before I could interact with it."
The others just looked at the drawing blankly. Ivy looked confused, while Sprig and Polly couldn't help but laugh at her statement.
"Good one, Luz," Sprig teased, cracking up. "Saw the ol' 'Moss Man,' huh? Well, I'll at least give it to you that the drawing's pretty good. You're pretty creative."
Luz frowned at his teasing. "I wasn't joking, though. It looked exactly like the drawing. It's never been documented." She then gasped. "What if I'm the first one to discover it?"
"Maybe all the smoke from those potions is getting to you," Sprig replied, not believing her words.
"I'm being serious," the human insisted, pointing to the drawing. "I'll even color it for you if I have to! You guys have stuff like vovocadas and the legendary Chicka-lisk, but this is too farfetched?"
"You believe in the Chicka-lisk too?" Polly replied, bursting out into laughter. "That's a bedtime story Hop Pop read to me!"
Luz's confidence faltered. "But…"
"You know, it sounds kind of like something One-Eyed Wally would say," the tadpole cut her off.
"Ha!" Sprig laughed. "She totally does sound like Wally."
Frustrated, Luz stormed off. Ivy wanted to call for her, conflicted, but the others' laughter drowned her thoughts out.
Meanwhile, inside City Hollow, Hop Pop had taken a quick break from filing paperwork to glance at the main hall, pondering how to renovate his new workspace and rid it of all of Toadstool's self-indulgent and narcissistic touches.
The giant chrome statues depicting the former toad mayor had strung up and blemished the hall's interior for possibly a decade, but Hop Pop had only seen them for a few days, yet had already gotten sick of them.
"Excuse me, Sheo?" the frog asked, quickly alerting the frog assistant who had previously guided him from the ceremony. He had been on standby for the past few hours, willing to assist or help out where Jeremy couldn't. "Could you or someone big enough drag away those statues and melt them? I really do not want to see them anymore."
"Your word is our duty, mayor," Sheo accepted as he quickly rummaged into an old storage closet before dragging out a large wheelbarrow made of steel. "Perhaps you could use the material for some other purpose?" he suggested.
Hop Pop's eyes lit up at the idea. "Oh, perhaps I could use that to make a new playground for the schoolhouse, too! The kids need somewhere to let off steam."
"How fast do you want this done?" Sheo asked. "All these statues are gonna take like three days to gut out completely."
"Whatever works for you, but just get them outta my sight for now," the old frog insisted. "What kinda psycho wants to plaster his face and name on everything just to please his fragile little ego?"
Sheo silently gave a thumbs up as he slowly dragged the first statue onto the wheelbarrow, but not without much struggling, almost as if his noodly arms were about to explode.
Feeling slightly bad for him but also knowing he couldn't waste much more time, Hop Pop silently turned around and entered his office, shutting the door and tuning out Sheo's grunts and groans for the time being. Maybe once the halls were fully cleared out, he could place family heirlooms or paintings to decorate the offices.
"Wait, you're telling me you saw the moss man?!" Maddie exclaimed, pausing her work to stare at Luz with wide eyes.
Luz was surprised by her reply, almost having expected her to laugh as well. "You believe me?"
"Of course I do," the young sorceress replied, closing her spell book as she turned her full attention to Luz. "Plus, you've never lied to me. Since I was a tadpole, I always wanted to meet the moss man in person."
Luz let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness someone believes me. So, do you want to come with me and try to find it?"
Maddie grimaced. "I wish I could, but I can't. Dad needs my help picking up supplies later. You should go find the moss man yourself, though. I have a feeling it won't be around here for long. There's a reason nobody has been able to document it. He's the most difficult creature to find, second to olms."
Luz was disappointed by this news, but she nodded, understanding her words. "Alright. I'll need some help, though, since the others think I'm just making things up."
Maddie rolled her eyes in response. "Don't listen to them. You'll need to find the moss man the old-fashioned way. I'd use a tracking spell, but I don't have any DNA samples of it. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do today," she said, looking apologetic.
Seeing her expression, Luz couldn't help but smile at her consideration. "It's okay. I'll figure it out myself. I want to meet it and maybe get a photo as proof. I'll be at home… or the tea shop, if you ever need me."
Without another word, she turned and went back where she came, back to the clearing, where Sprig, Ivy, and Polly were still hanging out at the same spot. After playing around a bit more, Luz grabbed her potion belt, and the four of them headed back to Wartwood, mostly in silence. Sprig and Polly tried to joke about the moss man to Luz, but after seeing her defeated expression, they decided to leave her alone.
The other three split off from Luz while the human strutted through Wartwood, barely paying attention to where she was headed while contemplating her options. "Surely, there's someone who'd help me figure this out… What is the moss man?"
"The moss man?" a familiar voice behind her replied, and Luz turned to see none other than Wally curiously approaching her, playing his accordion with a wide smile on his face, and he tilted his head, getting in her personal space. "So! You've seen the Moss Man too, eh? Hee-hee!" He giggled like a shy schoolgirl while twirling away from her.
"I seen it once," he continued, waving his hands dramatically. "Deep in the moors, where it makes its home and feeds on mist. Skin of moss, it had!" He suddenly shot in front of Luz, making her flinch. "Took me hand clean off, it did!"
Luz blinked in surprise at seeing his whole performance. "Uh, hi… You still have…" She pointed to his intact hand, shocking him.
Wally gasped, staring at his four fingers. "Lefty! When'd you get back?"
Luz sighed, already annoyed by the teasing from her frog siblings from earlier. Despite how crazy Wally was, he perfectly described the moss man that she saw. "Wait, did it look like this?" she asked, pulling out her notebook and opening it to the drawing she had made earlier.
Wally stopped staring at his hand in fascination and blinked in surprise, looking at the drawing. "That's right. You seen it, love?" he replied curiously, for once a bit more serious.
Luz nodded, feeling a little hope as she sat next to the turquoise frog. "I did, but the others don't believe me. They keep comparing me to you… not that I have anything against you, of course," she said the last part quickly.
"No offense taken," Wally replied with a grin, setting his accordion down. "Not the worst I've heard about me 'round these parts. So, what d'ya need from good ol' Wally?"
"Could you please show me where you found the moss man? I want to take a picture of it to prove that I'm not crazy," Luz pleaded desperately. "I don't want the others to tease me about this."
The human expected him to decline, but he simply nodded, waving his arm. "Okay."
"I—Wait, really?" Luz replied, stunned, and Wally gave her a thumbs up.
"Don't got none better to do," he replied, before suddenly pointing his finger at her. "But! The journey will be fraught with peril," the turquoise frog warned, before picking his accordion back up and beginning to sing. "Ohh~~, the Misty Moors are dark and gray…"
As he sang, Luz led him to the empty Plantar house, where Bessie was stationed. She was very grateful for the snail, as the trip would've otherwise been torture on her legs. While Wally insisted he pilot Bessie himself, she didn't want to take any chances, so he instead sat aside and guided her as they rode out of Wartwood.
Despite already seeing the outskirts of the town several times, the human girl knew she would never get tired of seeing Amphibia in its natural beauty. It was completely unlike her home—free of any pollution or industrial machinery.
As Wally began singing and playing his harmonica, Luz found him slightly amusing, but wondered how long he'd keep it up for. To her surprise, he was still at it two hours later, and by that point, it had finally grated on her ears. Unable to focus anymore, Luz handed him her phone, hoping he could enjoy some movies she had previously downloaded. To her bemusement, instead of watching the movies themselves, Wally just repeatedly watched their credits, entranced for the rest of the trip.
The entire trip took four hours in total, barely taking a toll on Bessie. Considering what they had to do during the election, this was nothing to the snail. She had crazy levels of stamina and patience as long as she was fed. They eventually reached a super tall mountain, where Wally claimed the moss man resided.
As soon as Luz saw it, she grimaced, questioning to herself if it really was worth it. The narrow path circled upwards around the mountain, and one misstep could spell their doom. "Is that the only path up?" she asked Wally, hoping there was another way. "Is there no snail path?"
"Ha! If only 'twas that easy," Wally murmured, as even he didn't look forward to the trip. "You'll have to leave yer snail 'ere, love. Path is too steep for her."
The human felt nervous, not wanting to leave Bessie alone. Turning to the snail, she tried to think of what to do to keep her safe until she spotted something in the corner of her eye—a cave entrance. That could work.
"Alright, Bessie. I think you should hide in there to be safe," Luz told the nervous snail, gently leading her to the cave entrance. "Don't head too deep, and stay just close enough to the entrance so nobody can see you. Will you be okay here?"
Bessie glanced back and forth nervously between the human and the cave, but she then nodded and chirped at Luz, confident that she'd be okay. She was already faster than most of Amphibia's creatures, so as long as she didn't run into any of her natural enemies, such as those ferocious hedgehogs, then she'd be okay.
At first, Luz felt bad for putting her in such a vulnerable position, but she nodded, watching the snail head into the cave. The human briefly followed the snail inside to make sure she found a good resting place before throwing down a spare blanket for her to sit on and some berries as food. As she headed back outside to the mountain's entrance, Wally was waiting for her, looking slightly impatient. "Alright, let's get going," she said to Wally.
They began heading up the mountain slowly over a few hours, and before they knew it, night fell. The human felt slightly bad for not telling anyone where she was headed, and she could only worry if the Plantars thought she had gone missing. She made a mental note to get this over with fast so they would know she was okay.
Wally was once again blissfully playing his accordion, all while Luz carefully watched her steps, not paying attention to the steep height at which they were heading. The frog was telling a crazy story she was barely paying any attention to. "... and with his dying words, he told me, 'Wallace, take this accordion, find my killer, and defeat him with the power of song,'" he said. "Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about yourself," he said to the human.
"Well, uh… I like doing magic, and before I came here, I—" Luz was cut off as the rock broke under her foot, disrupting her steps and suddenly jolting her mind awake. She fell off the side, screaming, while Wally leaped down, barely catching her by the foot while hanging onto the ledge.
The human took deep breaths, hearing her heartbeat in her ears. Luckily, Wally snagged her phone, which was a huge help from him. "Wow… Wally, I owe you my life…" she said in shock while he helped her back up.
"Don't mention it, love," he replied nonchalantly, dusting himself off as he handed the phone back to Luz. What he wasn't expecting, however, was a tight hug from the human, and he choked on air a bit. "T—too tight…" he wheezed.
"Oh! Sorry," Luz replied, letting Wally go, allowing him to catch his breath. "Ready to move on?"
After recovering, Wally got up onto his feet and nodded. "Yep! Just, uh, be careful now, yeah?" Luz nodded back, and the two of them continued climbing up the path in silence, now completely focused on not slipping up.
When they finally reached the top of the mountain, the two rested against a log as Luz was cooking one of Hop Pop's soup recipes next to a makeshift campfire. "So, yer mom sent ya away, did she?" the frog said after Luz had explained her story to him.
"She had good intentions. I just miss her," Luz sadly replied as she threw some spices into the pot, stirring them. "I'm stranded here, and I don't even have any way to reach her. I hope she's okay…"
Wally patted her shoulder comfortably. "Best thing to focus on is yerself right now. You gotta have faith in 'er."
Luz couldn't help but smile at his reassurances before it faded. "Mom must be so worried about me. I wish there was some way to tell her that I'm okay… She was already devastated when…" She paused, deciding not to mention any more than she had already.
"If she's half as strong-willed as you, she'll be okay," Wally assured her, leaning back in a more comfortable position.
Feeling comforted by his words, Luz decided to drop the subject. "Everybody calls you crazy, but you are a pretty nice guy to hang around with. And you're smarter than you let on. I can tell."
Wally's smile faltered briefly as he contemplated telling her who he was, but he decided not to. Luz seemed trustworthy, but he wasn't fully comfortable around her yet. "Don't know what yer talking about, love. Of course, I'm smart!" he teased, and Luz chuckled. Once the soup was ready, they both consumed a bowl each.
They sat in comfortable silence while they ate, looking up at the beautiful stars overhead. Luz had never realized just how polluted the night sky on Earth was until she saw Amphibia's stars. It was enchanting, though she couldn't figure out why some of them were green. Maybe this universe was just different.
"Well, even if yer not back home, you've got a great opportunity in front of you," Wally said. "Whole new world, new people, free to be whatever ya want."
Luz could've sworn she saw a wistful smile on the turquoise frog's face, but he soon dozed off, starting to snore in his own funny way. He took deep breaths, followed by, "Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup." The human smiled at him and let out a content sigh as the campfire slowly withered down. She closed her eyes, enjoying the peaceful silence as she allowed exhaustion to claim her as well.
Hop Pop had spent virtually the whole evening on paperwork and legal documents that he had neglected to walk outside and get a few minutes of sunlight as he usually had in his farming days. Moonlight had come, and the frog was sitting all alone in his office with his face and hands sloppily planted onto the desk. He hadn't even bothered to look at the time or outside, so before he knew it, he crashed into an impulse nap.
Suddenly, a few quiet knocks on his door jolted him awake, making him yelp and look around in confusion. "Wha? What time is it? Sheo? Is that you?"
Regaining his composure and straightening his back as he hastily shuffled the messy papers on his desk back into place, he forced himself a grin as he invited whoever was at the door to come in.
The door slowly opened to reveal a confused Sprig holding Polly, their faces blended with confusion and smugness.
"Ah, Sprig and Polly, haven't seen you two in a while." Hop Pop recognized them before suddenly realizing. "Wait, where's Luz?"
"Last time we saw her, she was talking about the moss man, but we haven't seen her since. Maybe she ran off with that crazy lunatic, Wally. But she hasn't come back yet and we really need to sleep somewhere tonight!" Sprig rapidly fired out as Polly silently nodded along.
"Well…" Hop Pop pondered for a moment. "It's too late for you two to head to Sylvia's, and right now, this hall really isn't a good place to sleep for now. How about this? I'll give you the keys, and you two can stay at my farm for the night."
The old frog's eyes suddenly narrowed as he warned them not to mess around or goof off as they usually did. "But if you cause any trouble or break anything, I'll force you two to work the farm from sunrise to sunset for the next three months."
After a short, uncomfortable pause, the two young frogs agreed. "Okay!" Sprig flashed a thumbs up as the house keys quickly flew into his hand, his fist easily catching them in midair. The two promptly turned around and left the office, the door slamming shut and leaving Hop Pop alone again.
While he was rightfully concerned about what might happen to his house, he knew it was the only option, at least for the night. He couldn't shake off his worries about Luz either, especially since she hadn't told them where she'd go or for how long. Still, he had a good feeling she knew what she was doing and that she'd likely be back in no time.
Juggling those paranoid thoughts wasn't getting healthy for him, and as he quickly glanced out the window blinds to reveal the blood-red moon up high, even Hop Pop realized it was time to call it a night and crash into slumber. Unfortunately, since he had ordered his assistants to remove Toadstool's furniture and decorations, that also included a king-size bed that would've been perfect for him at this hour. Defeated and exhausted, he resigned and lay on the floor, facing the ceiling, as he instantly fell asleep—this time for real.
As morning arrived, humid mist filled the air as the two of them finally reached the top of the mountain. There were remnants of old statues worn down by time, possibly hinting at an ancient settlement up there. The mist blocked out some of the light, so Wally held a lantern to guide their path, with Luz following behind. "We've finally made it. The Misty Moors," he said. "Time for the Moss Man summoning ritual."
As Wally set down his lantern, Luz raised his eyebrows, puzzled, as he hadn't mentioned a ritual until now. "What kind of ritual? Do… do we need a sacrifice? An offering?"
"No, silly," Wally replied, as he grabbed his accordion. He began to play it while screaming and blubbering absolute gibberish, making the human uncomfortable as he paced back and forth and twirled like a top.
"Uh—" Luz was about to interrupt him until she saw a familiar glowing blue butterfly going past her, and her eyes widened. "Wally, I am never doubting you again."
"Oi, where are you going?" Wally called after her as she dashed after the butterfly to follow it to its source. "I'm only halfway done!"
Despite his words, Luz continued, not wanting to miss this chance. As she got closer, more and more butterflies surrounded her. She was too distracted by the ruins to realize where she was going and bumped into a familiar figure. She looked up and froze, feeling a smile appear on her face as she saw it again, right in front of her.
The moss man was peacefully studying a butterfly that was perched on its soft finger, and it looked down to see who it was. Something about the human seemed familiar, as if it had seen her before. However, before the moss man could get a closer look, Wally came running out of nowhere, screaming at the top of his lungs. The frog tripped over Luz and alarmed the moss man, causing it to let out an alarmed sound and run off again.
"Wally!" Luz exclaimed, frustrated, but didn't wait to hear back as she ran after it, not wanting to lose the moss man again. "Wait! I—It's me! I just want to be friends!" she called loudly, but it was quicker than her, and it eventually faded into the parting mist, making her heart drop. "Oh, no…"
Behind her, Wally caught up to her, panting, his one eye widened. "Where'd it go?!"
Luz sighed in defeat. "I… I don't know," she replied, her shoulders slumped. She tried to think of any spells to help her find it, but she didn't want to alarm the creature and risk alienating it further.
"I just can't believe it's actually real," Wally muttered in absolute shock, almost unable to hold the lantern.
Luz nodded sadly before she paused, snapping her head toward the frog. "Wait… What?! You… I thought you believed me!" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"I thought it was a myth," Wally truthfully admitted with a wide smile. "I mean, it's preposterous!"
"B—But then why take me out here?" Luz asked, feeling a bit of anger simmering below the surface. "I…" She sighed, realizing getting angry would get her nowhere. "You know what? I can't argue. Just please be honest with me next time."
Wally blinked and then nodded. "Well, 'least we had fun. Guess this one's got a lot to learn, after all."
Without another word, Luz stood up, holding her phone. "We can't give up. I want to prove that I'm not crazy. Still up to come help me, Wally?"
"You got it, love!" Wally replied with a determined expression before he gasped and pointed behind her. "Ah! Look!"
Surprised, Luz spun around and saw none other than the moss man moving in the distance, not having noticed their presence. "Let's follow it! But don't be too loud!" The two of them ran toward where they last saw it, trying not to make too much noise. By the time they caught up, they stopped in front of a tall rock.
"Oh, crud…" Luz winced at the sight of it. "Rock climbing is not one of my strong suits…" She thought about it for a second and then reached down, sifting through her bag of spells. After her fight with Barry, she realized just how silly she had been for putting all of her potions into glass bottles instead of small bags, as Maddie did. While the glass bottles had more space, the bags were far easier to store and wouldn't break as easily.
Grabbing a handful marked as white, Luz turned toward Wally. "Are you up to do something very stupid?"
"You're askin' me?" Wally laughed as he stood next to her, prepared to follow whatever she'd do. Luz gulped before throwing the handful of six wind curses, and immediately, they were sent hurtling high into the air, screaming. They shot up above the rock pillar before falling toward the edge of it.
Thinking fast, Wally grabbed Luz's arm and threw her with all his might to the edge, ensuring she landed safely in a patch of grass. Luz grunted as she landed, luckily not hurt, but Wally fell past her, making her heart drop. She ran to the ledge just in time to see the frog managing to catch himself on a branch.
"Wally! Are you okay?" Luz called after him, immediately forgetting about the moss creature that was watching her from a distance. "Hang on, I'll get you down!"
"No!" Wally insisted, doing his best to hang on. "I'll be fine! Just take the picture!" Despite his words, he clearly wasn't going to last longer than a few seconds. He quickly lost his grip and plummeted toward his doom, yelling in panic.
As he slipped, time slowed down for Luz as her eyes darted around, trying to think of what to do. She then spotted a small patch of vines on the ledge and had a desperate idea. Luz reached into her pouch and pulled out a green bag, throwing it toward the vines. Immediately, it burst, causing the vines to grow at a crazy speed as they shot down toward Wally and ensnared him, halting his fall.
He gasped, his heart pounding as he opened his eyes, realizing he was suspended in midair. "Holy Frog! Thanks! Did you get the picture?"
"How can you think of the picture before your own safety?" Luz exclaimed in surprise, sweat beading on her head. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Wally replied as Luz slowly rustled away the vines, praying they wouldn't break. Luckily, they didn't, and she put Wally to safety next to her. "What was that?" he asked, bewildered now that he processed everything.
"It's a new spell I've been working on. It's like the one that instantly grows crops, but I figured out how to make them bigger and control them," she replied. "Thank goodness it worked."
Suddenly remembering where she was, Luz slowly turned around and saw the moss man observing the both of them from a distance, having witnessed the whole exchange, including Luz's bravery. Unlike before, it didn't run from them.
Wally decided to step back to allow Luz to slowly approach it. The moss man seemed a bit nervous, but it tilted its head curiously, realizing by now that she wasn't hostile. "H—Hello," Luz said softly, stopping a few feet in front of it. "I'm Luz. Luz Noceda."
The creature watched in interest as it inhaled a small cloud of mist. It then got up and slowly approached her, making her tense, but then it plucked a beautiful yellow flower from its body and offered it to her. Luz, surprised, took it in her hands, observing it. She could tell that it was not an ordinary flower just by feeling the energy radiating off of it. "Th—Thank you," she stuttered.
The moss man observed her for a moment longer, then slowly reached out, patting her head affectionately, before turning and slowly departing. Both Luz and Wally were too stunned to do anything or try to stop it as it once again faded away into the mist, completely out of sight.
Silence followed the encounter until Luz realized she had forgotten to take a photo of the creature, but she wasn't that concerned anymore. If she took a photo and showed it to everybody, the moss man could be in danger. What if other frogs came here to disturb it? Maybe the toads would find out and capture it? Luz didn't want to risk it, even if it meant she'd be forever called crazy.
Luz smiled as she observed the beautiful flower in her hand. "That… was amazing. I'd come here again just to see the moss man again."
Wally, meanwhile, looked dejected. "You lost your one chance to get proof, and it's all my fault," he muttered, breaking character. "Now everyone's gonna think you're as loony as I am."
Luz giggled as she sat down next to him, pulling him into a side hug. "It's not your fault, Wally. And I'm happy that we got to see it. Besides, I have my own way of proof. Where else are you going to find a flower like this?" she replied, holding up the glowing flower. "I bet this could be useful later on."
"I suppose so," Wally replied, his spirits uplifting. "So, uh, ready to head home, love? Figured that snail of yours misses ya."
"Yeah, sounds good," Luz replied as she got up, about to walk forward, but then froze. "Wait… How are we gonna get down?"
Wally's smile faded. "Oh… crikey…"
Concerned, Luz walked around the tall rock pillar, thinking of what to do. She was hoping to find some grass or soft surface to land on, but the mist was too foggy to make out anything. Just when she was about to give up, she suddenly observed something strange moving all around. The mist was magically parting, and as it cleared up, it revealed a large lake lying next to the mountain.
The human watched in awe, a crazy idea forming in her mind. Did the moss man help them find their way down, or was it a coincidence? Whatever it was, she was relieved and gestured for Wally to come over. The frog glanced down and saw the lake as well, suddenly getting a similar idea. "Well, wouldya look at that! Guess that's our only way down, huh?"
"So… are we just gonna… jump?" Luz asked, gulping at the thought of doing something so crazy from so high up.
"Yeah. Try not to land on yer stomach! Ya should be fine if you dive." Before Luz could reply, Wally ran forward and whooped as he plunged off the cliff, heading in the lake's direction. Reluctantly, Luz followed suit, diving toward the water. The air rushed past her ears as the misty fog parted around her. The surface of the water rapidly grew closer until…
SPLASH!
She landed in the water, bubbles forming around her from the impact. She held her breath, closing her eyes tight. She then resurfaced and coughed, her eyes watering and her nose burning. "Ugh… It burns…" Luz took some time to recover as the water flooded out of her nose, and she climbed out of the lake alongside Wally. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
Sighing, she grabbed her backpack and opened it, relieved to see everything inside completely dry, especially her phone. After making sure they both had everything, they headed back toward the cave to find Bessie. Thankfully, the snail stayed right where Luz had left her, though Bessie was hungry, so Luz fed her some berries while they got ready to head back to Wartwood.
As the sun rose, they drove Bessie back home, having a relatively peaceful trip, apart from Wally, playing his accordion and singing. Luz recounted the events of the whole trip, processing the encounter with the moss man. The creature seemed so kind, and it hadn't run away from her, as if it knew she wasn't a threat when it saw her save Wally.
Luz reached into her bag, pulling out the same flower it had given her. Its light radiated and slightly illuminated her hand, and she knew right away she'd need to be careful when handling it. Of course, she could always try to meet the moss man again, but she wasn't willing to go on another long, arduous trip this soon.
Later that afternoon, back in Wartwood, Wally was recounting the tale of what they had witnessed in front of an unamused crowd in the town square. "So there we were, our bodies ravaged," he began, and Luz had to suppress a laugh as she played the accordion to add to his theatrics. At first, she wasn't too sure about the turquoise frog, but she had now grown to find him endearing.
"Hanging on the edge of the cliff, the beastie staring down at us, lickin' its mossy chops," Wally continued, with Luz playing the accordion once more.
Before he could describe it any further, a female frog stepped forward, interrupting them. "Any proof?" she asked skeptically.
In response, Luz reached into her backpack and pulled out the glowing yellow flower, and the frogs looked at it in wonder. "The moss man gave me this after I met it in person! Plucked it from his own body!" she recounted, trying to sound dramatic like Wally.
A brief moment of silence followed before another frog spoke up. "It's just a flower." Those words caused the entire crowd to disperse, with the same female frog referring to Luz and Wally as two peas in a pod. Normally, this would've hurt Luz, and it still sort of did, but she knew that what she had seen was real, and she wasn't alone for once.
"Eh, tough crowd," Wally said, unphased as Luz handed him the accordion back. "Well, best be heading off."
Luz watched as the frog hopped down and played a short song while dancing as he was leaving.
"Oh~~ There once was a lass Named Luz the Fair~
She put up a front and played her part~
But soon enough touched this loon's heart~!"
Luz couldn't help but smile softly as his voice faded away, happy to have made a new friend today. Just then, she heard familiar voices calling out to her, and she turned to see Sprig, Polly, and Ivy running up to her.
"Luz, you're back!" Ivy exclaimed, catching her breath. "You've been gone for a while! We were starting to get worried."
"Sorry," Luz apologized, scratching the back of her head. "I didn't expect to go out of Wartwood for so long. Kind of went on an adventure with Wally."
"Speaking of Wally," Polly interjected, "we heard people at the tea shop saying you're as weird as him. Hope he didn't rub off on you."
"You must be pretty upset," Sprig said, looking sympathetic.
Feeling exhausted and exasperated after that long adventure, Luz glared at her frog siblings in defiance. "I don't care what others think about me. Wally's a nice guy, and if he helps me feel understood, then I'm happy. And you should know better by now, Sprig. You thought Maddie was weird at first, but now you have a crush on her!" she blurted out.
Sprig's eyes widened, his face turning red. He sputtered, trying to form words, while Ivy raised his eyebrows at him. "Ohhh, someone's got a crush," he teased the frog boy, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
"But… but…" Sprig's shoulders slumped as he turned toward Luz. "How did you know?"
Realizing what she had blurted out, Luz covered her mouth, extremely thankful that Maddie wasn't anywhere nearby. "Well… it's kind of obvious. You're not very good at hiding it."
Sprig looked defeated, but then his eyes lit up hopefully. "Does she like me back?" he asked, but Luz pressed a finger to her own lips in a shushing motion, giving him a playful smirk.
"Not my business," she teased, walking away, and Sprig let out an indignant groan.
"Come on!" he protested, chasing after her.
A few hours after the air settled down, Luz decided to stop by City Hollow by herself, wanting to check in on Hop Pop and also to apologize for disappearing for a few days. Hopefully, he had adjusted to his new schedule by now, so perhaps they could decide where they'd stay or how often he would see the kids.
The human gently opened the office door to reveal a surprisingly calm and composed Hop Pop sitting at his desk, happily looking at a stack of papers. He glanced up to see Luz and almost did a double take, not having seen her in so long.
"Luz! As I foresaw! You're back!" he greeted her as he stood up from his chair, the light returning to his eyes in what felt like weeks.
"Heh, sorry if I kept you out of the loop; I got a bit too distracted by my adventures. How did you and the children hold up?"
After a brief pause, the frog sighed. "Mostly a ton of burnout and exhaustion on my end, and I had to entrust Sprig and Polly with leaving the house alone when you were gone. Please don't do that again. But on the bright side, I've finally settled well into my new job, and I know how we're gonna manage our time and schedules moving forward!"
Luz was curious to hear his answer, as ever since he became mayor, she was wondering if he'd still have time to look after the kids or even be around with them in general.
To Be Continued in Chapter Thirty
Thanks for sticking until the end of the chapter! Rob (my co-writer) and I have been outlining the rest of Season 1 and hopefully Season 2 to streamline our writing and get chapters out sooner. Season one is steadily approaching its end.
We'd also like to ask a question to all of you: How do you all feel about the recaps at the start of the chapters? We had an idea to perhaps start including cold openings in each chapter followed by the title, similar to the beginning of The Owl House's Yesterday's Lie. Please let us know what you think!
~ Scruffy and Rob