Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 19: Another Monster in Wartwood

Anne laid on a small bedroll in her makeshift bedroom looking at a small polaroid of herself and her friends. She had been living with the Plantars for a month and although they treated her like family, she was still worried about her friends. Most notably Drake, he was last seen being chased by a giant praying mantis and had promised to meet up with her in Wartwood later. There hadn't been any sign of him since then, she began to fear for the worst. Anne sighed as the clock on her phone hit midnight. She laid down and went to sleep.

In the middle of the forest. A human sat with a whole group of snapdragons in front of a small fire. "Well guys, it seems our journey is coming to an end." he said.

One of the snapdragons approached him and nuzzled his side.

"I know Nyx, I'm going to miss you too." Drake was able to tell the snapdragons apart based on the markings on their back.

The larger ones approached as well. Drake could only assume they were Nyx's parents. If Nyx could understand him, no doubt they should be able to as well.

"Thank you for your help. All of you. I would never have gotten this far on my own." Drake said. "Are you sure you all don't want to come with me?"

There was some more hissing. Then one of the snapdragons shook their heads. Seems their consensus was no. It made sense, Nyx had her family to get back to.

"I wish I could stay with you all for a little longer but it's time for me to go. If I need help, I'll come straight back here, if not then I guess this is goodbye. I hope we see each other again someday." Drake looked up at the sky. It was early morning now. Not much longer before the townsfolk come out.

He had plenty of time to think about how he would handle the situation. Going during the day wasn't exactly safe as he didn't know how the townsfolk would treat him. Until he spoke with Anne the townsfolk would likely be hostile. However, if Anne really was here, she would likely be outside during the day. On the other hand, if he went in during the night, not only would he be able to scout the place at the risk of drawing suspicion. It was a risk he decided to take, Drake just wished he hadn't broken his sword.

Drake took off his cloak, it looked well-crafted, and he really liked its design. However, he felt Nyx deserved to have one last memory of him. He wrapped the cloak around Nyx's neck covering her back. "Here Nyx, I know it's not technically mine, but I want you to have this cloak. Something to remember me by. Now let's all take one last picture for the occasion."

Nyx jumped around happily. After the group photo with Nyx's entire family, she gave him one last lick before sending him off.

"Goodbye! I hope to see you again one day!" Drake gave Nyx one last hug then took his first steps towards this small town called Wartwood. Then he realized something. "Oh shoot, I just gave Nyx my only other pair of clothes." he said to himself.

Hours later, the first rays of the sun shined over Wartwood signaling the start of the day. Anne was eating breakfast with the Plantars in the kitchen. A set of pancakes with bugs as the main ingredient.

Suddenly a small pink frog named Sprig charged into the room screaming. "Guys! The town is rioting!" he yelled.

"A riot?! They're rioting without me?" Polly exclaimed. The tadpole hopped out of the kitchen to grab a weapon.

Hop Pop sighed. "Sprig, the town's always rioting over something. Now come on and eat your breakfast, I got chores to do after you kids eat."

"Yeah, it's always the same." Anne said as she took another piece from her pancake.

"It's different this time, they said they found a monster lurking in the town last night." Sprig said.

Anne put down her fork. "A monster? Here? What kind of monster? What did it look like?" her curiosity was piqued.