Raised By Frogs

Hiber Day. An annual event that was marked by the fourth day after three days in which the temperature in Wartwood dipped below the frog line.

It was on this fourth day of low temperature that every amphibian in Wartwood would freeze, encapsulated by a thick layer of ice, going into an instant state of hibernation.

Snow would fall rapidly, blanketing the environment in a cold, white shell, all vegetation dying and all non-amphibian animals either becoming encased in ice just like the amphibians or burrowing underground to hide from the harsh and sudden cold.

24 hours or so, when the temperature would finally rise up back to normal, warm, above-the-frog-line temperatures, the amphibian citizens of Wartwood would thaw, the ice around them melting away almost instantly and the amphibians emerging refreshed and renewed, ready to take on the rest of the season with rejuvenated energy.

However, their day of rest and recharging of energy came at a terrible price.

Every Hiber Day, one citizen would go missing-and would never be seen again. No one knew who or what was doing this,and the fact that everyone would be in their hibernating state meant that no one would know if they were going to be the one taken that year.This made Hiber Day a dreaded event, a tragic day in which you would fall asleep and wonder if you’d wake up the next day.

A day in which you carried the possibility of losing a family member or loved one as you slept, being unable to do anything to save them from whatever maniacal force was taking them.

For as much as the people of Wartwood would’ve wanted to just stay inside their homes and stay warm,awake and safe from whatever beast was taking them, missing the big Hiber Day freeze affected their health pretty dramatically,leaving their bodies unrested and un-recharged, resulting in a year’s worth of poor work performance, frequent exhaustion, narcolepsy, and overall worsened physical and mental health till they allowed themselves to be frozen the next year, allowing their bodies and minds to rest and recharge.
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Anne was no stranger to Hiber Day and the terror that came with it.

For five years straight, she’d watched as HP looked at the calendar in his study and checked the temperature outside the window in his study with a glass thermometer.

She’d ran with Sprig and Hop Pop and had held Polly as they sounded the alarm to alert the citizens of Wartwood of the coming Hiber Day.

She’d hugged Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly and told them a tearful possible goodbye before going into the Plantar’s house, going up to her room and covering herself in blankets before trying to fall asleep and stay that way-only getting up to grab a snack,use the restroom or look outside the window at the front of the house to see if Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly were okay- for the next 24 hours.
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On her very first Hiber Day, it hadn’t taken her long to realize that she wouldn’t be going into the iced - over state her frog family went into after she’d stood beside an ice coated Hop Pop for about five minutes, only to be awake, not iced over and and freezing her little butt off, shivering from both the intense sudden cold and the fear she felt from knowing what would happen within the next few hours.

Eventually, the cold and fear got to be unbearable enough that Anne had ran into the Plantar’s house and had proceeded to wrap every blanket in sight around her till she’d warmed back up, then she’d ran upstairs to her and Sprig’s room and had jumped into her bed, wrapping herself tightly in the blankets till she resembled a butterfly cocoon with a human face,shivering slightly under the weight of the many blankets that were wrapped around her.

Slowly, she’d fallen asleep, waking up a few hours later, hot and sweating heavily under the mass of blankets, the sun shining brightly through the window of her and Sprig’s room and the room suddenly hot and steamy as the temperatures had risen back to warm, above frog line temperatures. She’d immediately thrown the blankets off and had rushed downstairs, seeing Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly standing in the living room, untouched and seemingly very refreshed.

Anne had ran over to them, hugging them all tightly and tearfully, her frog family hugging her back tightly. Once the four of them had made sure they were all unharmed and safe, they all went back outside.

It was once again warm and green out, the grass and vegetation surrounding them all more lush and vibrant than ever. The sky was light blue, the sun was shining brightly, the flowers all newly bloomed…

Yet every frog in Wartwood looked incredibly mournful and despondent.

Mr. Evergreen, an old green frog that had chopped trees from the forest and sold lumber, and who had been both a business partner and best friend to Leopold Loggle, the town carpenter, was gone.

He had been the one to get taken that year.

The frogs all huddled in a circle around the place where Mr. Evergreen had been frozen, some crying, others hanging their heads in sorrow, poor Loggle shaking and sobbing loudly over the loss of his closest friend. Mayor Toadstool was giving a speech about what a good member of the community Mr. Evergreen had been and how much they would all miss him.

Anne had felt enormous guilt seeing them all mourn for the lost frog. She could’ve stayed awake, maybe she could’ve saved him…..

“....I could have stayed up, Hop Pop….I could've tried to save him….But I didn’t…” Anne had said softly, feeling overwhelmed with guilt and self hatred. She was such a coward…

“Now Anne, don't you say that, you didn’t know that you wouldn’t freeze like the rest of us.” Hop Pop had said, patting Anne’s shoulder.

Suddenly, the whole crowd of frogs turned to them, having overheard what Hop Pop had said, all eyes on Anne.

“Anne, is that true? Did you not freeze up like the rest of us?” Mayor Toadstool had asked, raising an eyebrow.

Anne had sighed, looking down as she spoke.

“I….I thought that I would freeze….And I got really cold…..But I didn’t freeze, I….I got cold and scared, so I went back to our house….I tried going to sleep, I...I did go to sleep but I didn’t freeze up….I...I’m sorry that I didn't stay awake and try and save Mr. Evergreen…” Anne said, softly, refusing to look up out of shame and guilt.

“Anne, this is NOT your fault!! You didn’t know you wouldn’t freeze, and you were in just as much danger as the rest of us and you needed to keep yourself safe! Isn’t that right everyone?” Hop Pop said, looking sternly at the crowd of frogs, searching for any accusatory stares or glares in Anne’s direction. He would NOT allow anyone to make her feel like she was somehow responsible for the tragic event.

All the other frogs were just staring at her, their eyes wide.

After a few minutes of staring at her in silence, one frog finally spoke up, asking the question that every frog there had been thinking.

“Anne, do you think you could stay awake next year and see what’s been taking us??”

Anne’s eyes widened. She hadn’t thought of that. She had only fallen asleep because she hadn’t known what else to do.

She could stay awake, maybe she could even find and get rid of the creature that was taking the frogs!!

The other frogs were talking amongst themselves, all of them suddenly uplifted and excited at the idea that they might finally have some protection, or at least someone who would find out what the thing that was taking them was so they could find a way to get rid of it.

Anne had opened her mouth,ready to accept the position of staying awake and finding out what the beast was, when Hop Pop had started yelling at the crowd of frogs.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!! HOW DARE YOU ALL THINK THAT ANNE SHOULD PUT HER OWN LIFE IN DANGER FOR US??? SHE’S A CHILD FOR FROG’S SAKE! HOW THE FROG HELL IS PUTTIN’ A CHILD’S LIFE IN DANGER AND LETTIN’ THEM FACE WHATEVER BEAST HAS BEEN TAKIN US WHILE WE ARE UNABLE TO HELP THEM AT ALL RESPONSIBLE???? WHAT GOOD WOULD THAT DO ANY OF US????”

Hop Pop had stopped to take a breath, the frogs all going silent, Anne shutting her mouth.

” Anne will NOT be stayin’ awake next Hiber Day, or the Hiber Day after that or any Hiber Days after that!!! I’ll go to Frog Hell and back before I let any of you put my grandchild in harm's way!!!”

The old frog glared at all the other frogs, who slowly backed away, not wanting to incite another outburst of rage from the old orange frog.

“....Hop Pop I’ll do it...If it means finding out what the thing is…”Anne had started, only for her frog grandfather to interrupt her.

“No Anne. You will not be putting yourself out there for that monster to harm and that's final. Anne, knowing that you won’t be frozen and will be able to move or hide if whatever’s takin’ us does somehow find you is the only comfort I’m ever gonna have during these upcomin’ Hiber Days! I can face them knowing that at least one of my grandchildren will survive and make it to adulthood even if the other two might not cuz they’re frozen and unable to run or fight back, and if I’m the one that ends up gettin’ taken….Then you’ll still be around to take care of the farm and be there for Sprig and Polly….Anne, please don’t take that one comfort away from me…..”

Hop Pop’s voice was full of sadness, fear and pain. Anne didn’t know what to say. What could she say? On one hand, she’d be helping to protect the frogs of Wartwood by staying up and finding out what was taking them, possibly even putting an end to the creature and thus saving anyone else from being taken.

But on the other hand, she knew that Hop Pop had already lost Sprig and Polly’s parents, and that it would break him if he lost yet another loved one. Besides, she was, as Hop Pop had said, a child. What if she wasn’t strong enough to fend off the beast? What if it found her and decided to take her as it’s yearly Hiber Day sacrifice?

Anne had slowly sighed, looking back down as she slowly gave her answer.

“....I won’t stay up, Hop Pop…. Don’t worry…”

The other frogs seemed to accept this answer, their excitement and hope soon replaced with disappointment and deep sorrow as they all went back to their homes, Hop Pop ushering Anne, Sprig and Polly back into their home, wanting to get things back to normal as soon as possible, not wanting to think about the next Hiber Day that would inevitably come the next year, costing them yet another beloved member of the community.

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That had been five years ago.

The years had continued on, the inevitable Hiber Days coming and going, each year another frog going missing, never to be seen again.

Ms. Greentree, who had owned a small fruit farm near the edge of town, was the next to be taken the year after Mr. Evergreen had been taken.

The year after that, it was Mr. Yellowfoot, who owned a small cricket farm and occasionally made his own crickets and cream ice cream.

The year after that it was Birch Dewdrop, a young frog that had been around the same age as Anne at the time….The death of the young frog had hit the community particularly hard….

Finally, the year after that, it was Mrs. Flour, The local baker Mr. Flour’s wife, that was taken, leaving an incredibly distraught Mr. Flour behind, along with four young daughters that would now have to grow up without a mother.

And now...It was this year.

Anne was twelve now, and she’d become used to the annual Hiber Days.

She’d learned to expect and accept the loss of friends and neighbors.

She’d learned to carry the heavy guilt of knowing that she could do something yet didn’t because her own family didn’t want to risk losing her.

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The weather had been colder as of late…Very cold.

For three days straight.

It was now the fourth day of cold weather, and temperatures had dipped just below the frog line on every thermometer in Wartwood.

Hiber Day was here.

Anne and Sprig had already ran around town, Sprig sounding the alarm, despair and anxiety enveloping the town as they realized that Hiber Day was fast approaching.

Hop Pop had already covered the crops with cowapillar-skin tarps so that they wouldn’t all die from the sudden cold snap, and Bessie was locked up in her stable, getting a possible goodbye hug and kiss from the old frog before he went to go find Anne, Sprig and Polly.

As soon as she and Sprig had finished sounding the alarm, they got back to their house, Hop Pop waiting outside,holding Polly in one arm and a thick, padded coat,a scarf,mittens and a hat for Anne in the other arm. The human girl smiled,taking the winter garments and putting them on as Hop Pop plopped Polly into Sprig’s arms.

“Say your possible goodbyes, kids, then I can make sure Anne gets to sleep.” Hop Pop said, eyeing the sky for falling snowflakes.

Sprig came forward, opening an arm as he held Polly in his other arm, the tadpole opening her stubby arms to hug Anne for what could be the last time.

“Possible Goodbye, Anne…” Polly squeaked, eyes full of tears.

Anne enveloped both her amphibian siblings in her arms, squeezing tight, fighting back her own tears. “Possible goodbye Polly….Possible goodbye Sprig…”

Anne ruffled Sprig’s hair, Sprig barely smiling through the fear and despair he was feeling as he looked up at his human sister.

“Possible goodbye Anne…”

Hop Pop’s face was full of sorrow as he watched his three grandchildren bid each other goodbye, mentally praying to Frog that Sprig and Polly wouldn’t get taken and that Anne would be able to sleep through the Hiber Day and would be okay.

Anne slowly let go of Sprig and Polly, walking inside the house, Hop Pop following.

Despite Anne telling Hop Pop that she wouldn’t go out during Hiber Day, and despite the frogs of Wartwood seemingly accepting that she wouldn't be staying awake and doing out on Hiber Day, a few of them had tried to persuade her to go out and save them from the beast. Hop Pop knew Anne, and knew that she was quick to give in to persuasion from others.

To ensure that Anne didn’t end up giving in to the pressure, Hop Pop would watch her go to bed and stay until she’d fallen to sleep, then for an extra precaution he’d lock the front door to the house,the back side door to the house, and the bedroom window so that if she did wake up, she wouldn’t be able to get out of the house, since the key to the keys would be in his pocket while he was frozen in a thick shell of ice.

Anne got up to her and Sprig’s room, getting into her bed and wrapping the sheets around her.

“You know I could just light a fire in the fireplace in the basement and sleep there instead of having to sleep wearing all these bulky winter things along with the sheets...Right?” Anne asked Hop Pop.

“I know, but then if it goes out I don’t want you accidentally burnin’ the house down while we’re all frozen. Besides, I’m sure your nice comfy bed is far better than sleepin’ on the cold, hard basement floor..” Hop Pop said, smiling softly. He sat beside her , wrapping his arms around her.

“Possible goodbye Anne, sweet dreams…” He said, trying to keep the fear and sadness out of his voice as he embraced his human grandchild for what might be the last time.

Anne hugged Hop Pop tight, sighing softly.

”Possible goodbye Hop Pop…..”

She slowly let go, snuggling under the covers and closing her eyes.

Hop Pop sat beside her till her breathing grew slow and even, then placed a kiss on the top of her head, got the ring of keys he had and locked the bedroom window, and walked out, going downstairs and locking the back side door before exiting the house. He walked outside, taking the key to the house out of the pocket of his coat and locking the front door, making sure it was locked before putting the key back in his pocket, going over to his two grandchildren, who were now shivering quite prominently.

He put his arms around them, hugging them tight.

“Possible goodbye, Sprig, Polly….” He kissed them both on the tops of their heads, the two young frogs hugging him tightly before letting go, Sprig stepping away from him a little, then setting Polly down a few inches away so that they all wouldn’t get fused together by ice when they froze.

They all stood there for a few minutes,shivering, till Sprig jumped a little, feeling an icy cold speck touch his arm. He looked up, seeing tiny white dots falling down from the sky, a few hitting his skin and worsening his shivering.

“It’s here…” Hop Pop said quietly, the sky now obscured by pale silver clouds, snowflakes falling down upon them, getting heavier and heavier by the minute.

“.....Frog….Please…..Don’t let it be one of us….” Hop Pop prayed softly, closing his eyes as he felt his body freeze.

He slowly fell out of consciousness, ice growing around him and encapsulating him as the world around him grew white with fallen snow.

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As soon as Anne heard Hop Pop walk out of the front door, her eyes shot wide open.

She sat up, looking outside,seeing tiny specks of snow falling and turning to minuscule water drops on the window.

She got out of bed, slowly opening the door and tiptoeing downstairs, slowly walking over the window on the front of the house, looking outside and watching as Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly begame encased in a thick shell of ice, chills wracking her body at the unsettling sight.

The snow grew heavier and heavier, eventually turning into a whiteout that obscured Anne’s view of her frog family as heavy winds shook the house and the temperature dropped further.

Anne turned away, back pressed against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as she breathed in.

For as much as she knew Hop Pop would be furious when he found out…..She had to do it.

She HAD to stay up and find out what was taking the frogs of Wartwood.

With every frog that went missing each Hiber Day, the guilt that Anne had felt since her first Hiber Day grew and got heavier, weighing down on her like a backpack full of bricks. It was like a rain cloud that was building up moisture, ready to burst into a torrential rainstorm.

Anne had tried to tell herself what Hop Pop had told her that first Hiber Day, that she was only a young child and that putting herself in harm’s way wouldn’t do any good to anyone or bring back those they had lost. But Anne couldn’t help but continue to blame herself.

She wasn’t like the frogs, she didn’t freeze, she could stay up and protect herself from anything that was trying to hurt her.

She could stay up and protect THEM from anything that was trying to hurt them!

And yet...She hadn’t.

She’d hidden herself away and closed her eyes like a coward. She’d let them get taken, had let their families suffer from their loss……

She couldn’t do it anymore.

She couldn’t just go to sleep and let them be put in harm’s way.

Besides, there was always the constant fear of Sprig, Polly or Hop Pop getting taken that year, and if she lost any of them she honestly didn’t know if she could cope.

She wasn’t a small child anymore. She was practically a teenager now, and years of helping Hop Pop with farmwork had made her physically strong.

She was less scared, less quick to run for cover.

She was ready to try and make it up to the frogs of Wartwood for letting them lose their loved ones over these past few years.

She was ready to find whatever creature was taking them, and she was ready to put an end to it, Once and for all, so that they would never have to go through the fear of losing anyone ever again.

Slowly, Anne walked into the kitchen. A large butcher knife lay on the kitchen table, having been freshly sharpened by Hop Pop a few days prior.

Anne would need a weapon to defend herself from the presumably very dangerous entity that she was about to try and find.

She went over, picking it up and grasping the handle tightly. She had her weapon, now she had to find a way to get out.

Hop Pop had locked the front door,the back side door,the window in her and Sprig’s room…..Basically every exit in the house was locked, and the keys were in his pocket.

She looked around, trying to think of a way out. Then she remembered that there was a relatively large air-vent opening in the basement. Maybe it’d be big enough for her to squeeze through.

She spotted the door to the basement and quickly went over to it, a gust of icy cold air hitting her and sending her into a fit of violent shivering the moment she opened the door. After giving herself a few minutes to get used to the cold and cease her shivering, she walked downstairs, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of the room. She felt even colder now that she was down in the basement, the temperature seemingly dropping down further and further with every step she took.

Eventually, she got to the bottom, looking around, her eyes finding the vent.I t was big, big enough for her to crawl through…..

Had it not been completely blocked up by snow.

A thick, cold block of white completely filled the gap, making any exit or entry impossible, unless she had some kind of blowtorch to quickly melt away the snow or was able to dig away and burrow through the snow.

“Son of a snailfucker!” Anne huffed, agitated that the one quick exit she had was currently blocked. She sighed frustratedly, walking back upstairs and slamming the basement door shut.

She went to the living room and plopped herself down on the sofa, breathing in slowly and exhaling deeply, trying to think of any other possible exits that existed in the house.

Then it hit her.

There was a fireplace in Hop Pop’s study. If she could crawl up there and get through the chimney….The chimney wasn’t too small or narrow, she could fit through it…..

She got up and went upstairs, going into Hop Pop’s study and spotting the fireplace, the floor of the fireplace covered in a thick coating of ash.

A thirty-inch long fire poker with a sharp, pointy tip at its end lay in front of the fireplace. It was thin, but the pointed tip could be used to blind anything that jumped at her, and it was likely sharp enough to penetrate flesh. Anne could take it with her as a second weapon.

She went over and picked it up, then crouched down to look up into the fireplace.

It was dark, but she could just feel her way up it. She decided to take off her bulky winter coat in case it hindered her ability to crawl up and squeeze through the chimney, tying it tightly around her waist so it’s be less bulky and hinder her climbing. Then she took off her scarf and tied it around her left ankle, then tied the fire poker up with one end of the scarf by its handle and the butcher knife with the other end by its handle. That way she didn’t need to worry about trying to carry the weapons with her along with her and hurting herself and didnt have any extra bulk around her waist - She’d just drag them along with her through the chimney.

She slowly got into the fireplace, standing up slowly, her head and the tops of her shoulders entering the start of the chimney. She reached up, trying to feel for anything to grab onto. She felt nothing but rough,ash-coated wood without a single thing to hold onto.

She huffed in frustration, looking around. Maybe if she could stand on something, then try and squirm her way up…

She spotted a small footstool. She could try using that!

She crouched back down and got out of the fireplace, walking over to the footstool, the scarf around her ankle dragging along the floor, the tied-up weapons dragging across the floor a bit loudly.

She grabbed the footstool, hoisting it up and walking back to the fireplace. She set it down beside her,then crouched and got into the fireplace,standing as she entered the start of the chimney. She slowly used her foot-the one that didn’t have the scarf and weapons attached to it-to scoot the footstool over, slowly getting it next to her,then standing up on it carefully.

Now she had risen into the chimney, the top half of her torso now up in the chimney. Carefully,she crouched down,her legs positioned like that of a frog, arms raised.

She inhaled,then jumped,getting fully into the inside of the chimney.She opened her arms and legs,pressing her forearms and elbows and knees against the insides of the chimney as hard as she could,breathing heavily. She was shivering slightly from the cold,but had secured herself and wasn’t showing any signs of falling out.

Slowly,she scooted her arms up higher,then scooted her knees up,then slowly began to continuously scoot her way up the chimney,the fire poker and butchers knife that were attached to her by the scarf clanking and making unpleasant, metallic noises as they scraped across the chimney’s interior.

Anne felt the fabric of the arms of her shirt and her pants become scuffed from the rough wooden walls around her. After a while the fabric began to rip, Anne feeling the skin on her elbows and knees get scraped up as she scooted herself up. She felt the sting of cold air against scraped flesh,but she ignored the pain and continued,knowing that the pain of potentially losing one of her frog family members would be far more painful than any scrape she’d ever get.

After a few minutes of slowly scooting up, she saw a bit of light,the light growing increasingly brighter and the air growing colder and colder as she got up. She looked up,a circle of blindingly bright white light visible.

The end of the chimney.

She started scooting faster,the pain in her elbows and knees increasing,causing her to grit her teeth as she tried to ignore the pains and reach the exit.

It was getting closer….and closer….the end of the chimney was slightly tighter than the rest of the chimney,but she could still fit.

Anne soon found herself right at the exit, scooting extra hard and feeling her head pop out of the chimney hole.

The frigid cold air hit her first,then she felt small snowflakes being blown against her face by a gust of icy wind. Once again she was sent into a fit of violent shivering, closing her eyes and then slowly opening them back up.

Everything was covered in snow. The tops of houses, the now leafless trees, the iced-over frogs….Nothing was left un-snowed on.

Anne looked down and saw the ice covered figures of her frog family, the snow around them reaching up to Hop Pop’s waist, burying all but Sprig’s iced-over top half and completely obscuring the little ice cube that was Polly.

Anne looked down, gulping as she saw just how far up from the ground she was. Out of all the things she’d thought through with this plan...How she was going to get down hadn’t been one of them.

She looked back to her frozen frog family, eyeing how deep the snow was around them. It was thick enough...It would hopefully cushion her fall….Hopefully.

She’d made it this far...There was no going back.

She inhaled, scooting upward forcefully, feeling the hard wood of the chimney scrape against her arms as her torso and arms slowly rose out from the chimney hole. She shivered even more, sort of wishing she’d kept her coat and scarf on and grateful she’d kept the mittens and hat on.

She grabbed onto the sides of the chimney hole, slowly pushing down and pulling herself up with a bit more force, her hips and the tops of her thighs coming out from the chimney hole. That's when gravity hit, along with Anne’s severe shivering, causing her quivering arms to give out and make her leg go of the sides of the chimney hole.

Anne screamed as she felt her body fall forward and down, her arms shooting out in an attempt to steady herself. She found herself staring down at the snow coated ground, breathing in and out heavily as fear flooded her body.

She felt gravity pulling her down further, her knees and feet suddenly leaving the chimney, Anne feeling herself fall, screaming as the cold air blew up harshly against her body as she fell down,the cold, thick snow softening the impact as she hit the ground.

A dull, sore pain reverberated throughout the front of Anne’s body. She groaned into the snow, letting herself lay in it’s numbing coldness till her body recovered, the pain fading slightly.

She slowly rolled over onto her back, sitting herself up and slowly feeling her nose. It didn’t feel broken, thank Frog, just a bit swollen. She felt her collarbone, chest and ribs, then her hips, then slowly bent her legs and wiggled her toes, feeling no broken bones, but knew she’d definitely be getting some deep bruising the next day. She bent her arms and wiggled her fingers, nothing broken there.

She looked around her,seeing that the scarf was still attached to her ankle,the fire poker and butcher’s knife still tied to it’s ends, the two objects both sunken deep into the snow.

Anne looked beside her at the place where she had fallen,noticing bright red patches in the snow where her elbows and knees had made contact with the snow. She winced,feeling her elbows and knees sting from the scrapes they’d acquired from her journey up the chimney.

She slowly took her coat off her waist,putting it on,feeling a welcome wave of warmth envelop her and settle her shivering. She untied the scarf from her ankle, dragging the ends of it up to her till the fire poker and butcher’s knife became visible to her. She then tied the scarf around her upper waist, deciding that it’d be easier if she kept carrying them around with the scarf instead of carrying them both around in her hands.

She slowly stood up, legs shaking for a few minutes before steadying. She looked around at the snow-coated world around her, everything familiar yet surreal and strange, the almost blindingly bright paleness of everything hurting her eyes.

Anne began walking around, a bit clumsily as she was trying to get used to the feeling of walking in the snow, eventually finding herself in the centre of town, the usually bright, cheerful, bustling area now silent, snowy and devoid of all activity, the ice-coated figures of her many frog neighbors and friends all stood by the businesses and stands they owned, like guardian statues that stood in front of shrines to protect them.

It creeped Anne out, seeing them all frozen up and still as statues. She shivered a little, then kept walking, remembering that she was supposed to be monitoring the area for whatever creature was taking the frogs. She looked around,trying to find a place to stay and look out at, eventually deciding to wait at the entrance of town, but would keep her eyes peeled and ears open in case she heard or saw anything trying to get into town from anywhere else.

She started walking up to the entrance of town, looking around, trying to hear anything that was moving besides her in the dead silence. She eventually got to the entrance,standing tall,untying the butcher’s knife and holding it in her right hand, eyes darting from place to place.

Whatever it was that was taking the frogs on Hiber Day, she just hoped she’d be able to take it on.

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After minutes of standing still as a statue in front of the town, Anne began to feel boredom wash over her. She wasn’t the type that could just stay still in one place for a long time, she needed SOMETHING to do to get her energy out.

But she couldn’t just leave her post,she HAD to stay there and look out for whatever was taking the frogs.

But then how was she supposed to keep watch for the monster taking the frogs when she was so full of energy and bored that she was ready to burst and could literally pay attention to nothing?

She sighed,pacing back and forth in front of town, the butcher's knife clutched tight in her hand.

When pacing back and forth didn’t quell her boredom, she decided to try and mess around with the snow. Since she’d lived in California prior to being in Amphibia, she’d never experienced snow or making snowmen or anything like that, but she’d heard of it and had seen people making snowmen and having snowball fights in movies and in books.

She slowly re-tied the butcher knife to the scarf, then bent down and grabbed a handful of cold, dense snow, moulding it onto a ball with her hands. She turned, looking into town, trying to find something to aim the snowball at besides the many iced over frogs. She spotted the statue of the founder of Wartwood in the centre of town, smiling a little as she prepared to throw the snowball, aiming for the statue’s face. She threw the snowball, watching it fly at the statue, splatting against the statue’s nose as it made impact.`

`Yes!!” Anne exclaimed, bouncing a little, immediately grabbing up more snow and making a few more snowballs, glad to have found something to bide her time with.

She continued throwing snowballs, hitting hanging business signs, doors, windows, and had even hit an ice-covered Mayor Toadstool in the face.

However, continuously throwing snowballs at random targets soon grew boring, and the palms of Anne’s mittens were starting to grow cold and wet from continuously handling snow. She went back to the entrance to town, looking around, remembering that she had to keep lookout for the creature taking the frogs, hoping that she’d gotten enough energy out that she could devote her attention to looking for the creature.

She stood there for a few minutes, arms crossed, eyes slowly darting from place to place, huffing a little. She kept reminding herself that she had to do this, she HAD to try and find out what was taking the frogs….But every bone in her body ached to move around, walk around, jump, run...anything!!! She couldn’t just stay there and just stand, moving only her eyes. She had too much energy to just stay there without any form of entertainment or work to do.

The dead silence was suddenly broken by a low growl from Anne’s stomach. Anne remembered that she’d forgotten to eat breakfast that morning, too anxious about Hyber-Day and too busy helping out with Hiber Day preparations around the farm to eat.

She sighed. There was no way in Frog Hell that she’d be able to stand and keep watch on an empty stomach.

She glanced behind her, remembering that the Flour and Daughters bakery and The Red Larvae Deli were both nearby. Maybe she could sneak into one of them and grab something to eat….She wouldn’t be too long….

She turned, walking into town. She was about to see if the door to The Red Larvae’s door was unlocked when she heard another noise.

One that wasn’t coming from her.

A loud, increasingly close sounding rumbling noise was coming from the area near the entrance to the town.

Anne quickly ran back to the entrance of town, seeing something in the distance.

A lump of snow.

A large lump of snow stood a few feet away from the entrance of the town.

And it was moving towards her.

Anne quickly untied the butcher’s knife and gripped it hard in her right hand, raising the knife and standing her ground,preparing to attack as the lump moved towards her, getting closer and closer till it was right in front of her.

Suddenly, something burst out of the lump of snow, Anne jumping back and landing on her backside in the snow as she looked up at whatever had risen from the snow.

It was a white weasel.

A huge white weasel, as big as a house and as long as a public swimming pool, was staring down at her with beady blood red eyes, mouth opening and revealing long, huge, sharp teeth as it screeched at Anne.

A giant weasel….Was this what was taking the frogs?

The weasel suddenly lunged down, Anne quickly flipping over to the side and getting to her feet as the weasel’s face hit the snowy ground, the fearsome creature getting a mouthful of snow. It spat the snow out, looking at Anne, who glared back at it, holding the butcher’s knife in front of her.

“Come at me you filthy beast.” She spat, ready to attack.

The weasel lunged at her, Anne promptly bringing the butcher’s knife down onto it’s soft nose, the weasel screeching in pain and pulling away, blood spilling from its sliced nose.

Anne stood her ground,holding the bloodied knife up,glaring up at the beastly creature. The weasel growled at her, then dove under the snow, becoming a lump of snow once again as it raced into town, Anne running after it, ready to attack and, if needed, kill.

The weasel was well into town as it shot back up from the snow, looking around at the ice covered frogs that stood around it. It’s eyes landed on Hop Pop’s ice covered form, just a few feet away, and began slithering towards him, eyes full of hunger and pain from the great big deep cut in its nose.

Anne was right behind it, her heart racing as she saw who it was heading towards. She ran faster, practically flying towards the beast till she was right behind it, raising the butcher’s knife above her head and bringing it down hard on the top of the weasel’s rear, just above it’s tail.

The weasel had been preparing to grab the frozen Hop-Pop in it;s mouth, jaws wide, when the sudden, sharp, horrible pain above it’s tail made it screech loudly, the creature whipping around to see Anne pull the butcher’s knife from it’s flesh, glaring up at it with pure rage.

This WAS the creature that was taking the frogs!!

It was going to pay for every frog it’d taken, for every friend and neighbor they’d lost, and for all the fear they’d felt every Hiber Day.

She was going to make it pay.

The weasel shot towards her, screeching, its mouth wide open and it’s sharp teeth bared. Anne dodged it, allowing it’s head to go right past the left side of her head before raising the butcher’s knife yet again, bringing it down on the back of the weasel’s neck, gripping the handle tight and pulling downward, feeling it’s flesh slice under the blade.

The weasel let out another screech of pain, Anne pulling the knife from it’s flesh as it shot up, standing as tall as a telephone pole in front of her, growling and glaring down with pain and rage filled eyes.

” I’m gonna kill you you fucking monster.” Anne spat, glaring into it’s eyes and gripping the butcher’s knife tightly, warm, red, liquid blood dripping off the blade, leaving little spots of crimson on the snow.

The weasel prepared to lunge at her, Anne raising the knife yet again, the weasel’s jaws opening up as it reared up. Anne then quickly untied the fire poker, holding it in her left hand as the weasel shot at her, jaws open.

Anne quickly held up the fire poker, swinging her arm up and stabbing the weasel in the soft palate with the fire poker, feeling the tip hit bone and feeling the tips of the weasel’s teeth pierce through the fabric of her coat on her left arm, the sharp tips of the teeth piercing into the skin and sending stinging pain throughout her arm, Anne wincing in pain and pushing the fire poker further into the roof of the weasel’s mouth till she felt the bone crack under the tip of the fire poker.

The weasel immediately pulled away, screeching in agony and shrinking back, lowering itself to the ground as blood spurted from the hole in the roof of it’s mouth. Anne felt her arm, feeling to see how deep her wounds were.Flesh had been deeply punctured, blood seeping into the fabric of her shirt and coat, but the teeth didn’t seem to have gone too far into into her muscle or caused anything serious.

Anne glared at the weasel and charged at it, deciding to take the opportunity to attack it as it was seemingly surrendering.She swung the butcher’s knife up, the weasel looking up as the blade came down hard on the bridge of it’s nose, the weasel screeching and drawing back quickly, the blade slicing deeply across it’s muzzle as Anne kept her grip on the knife,charging back at the creature and then jumping back as it suddenly lunged at the ground, burrowing back under the snow, the snow-shielded weasel racing back to the entrance of town.

Anne was sprinting after it, completely lost in her desire….No...Her NEED to end this creature’s life.

The fear, the losses they’d all suffered because of this monster…

This creature had to be ended.

Anne followed the weasel as it rushed under the snow, going out of the town and past the entrance to town, then making a sharp left and racing towards the forests nearby. She ran between trees and jumped over ditches and bushes as she tailed the moving snow mound, trying to see if she could get above it and strike the weasel as soon as it popped back up from the snow.

Eventually, a large cave came into view, the snow-mound covered weasel racing into it, the weasel popping out of the snow and slithering into the cave’s depths. Anne followed, stopping at the mouth of the cave to catch her breath.

Once she’d caught her breath and recovered from all the running, she made her way inside, looking up to see large, dangerously pointy icicles hanging from the stone ceiling of the great big cave. Large ice crystals protruded out from the cave’s dark stone walls, and the ground was carpeted in snow.

Anne looked down, seeing the weasel’s footprints in the snow, along with drops of blood beside each print. Anne followed the prints, hoping that she had the beast cornered so that she could put an end to it, so she could put an end to the fear and suffering that came with each Hiber-Day.

She kept her eyes on the ground, following the prints farther into the cave till she found herself at a large opening in the cave, the opening covered in a thick curtain of hanging moss. She could hear low growls coming from behind the moss, and knew that she now had the beast cornered.

She breathed in, slowly using the blood-coated fire poker to push the curtain of moss out of the way, then slowly stepping inside.

The injured weasel lay on the snow-covered ground, staring at Anne as it breathed heavily, blood dribbling down it’s nose,mouth,and the sides of it’s muzzle from the dark red cuts on its nose and on the bridge of its nose. It’s body was wrapped around what appeared to be a bunch of dried grasses…..And three bright pink, fleshy,seemingly newborn baby weasels lay curled up in the dried-grass nest.

Babies…?

Anne looked from the baby weasels to their mother, watching as one baby reached out and opened it’s mouth, lightly biting at the weasel’s side.

It was hungry.

It needed food.

Anne’s eyes widened. The weasel was stealing frogs from Wartwood so that she, and now her babies, could eat them, either because this was the only time of the year that they came out to get food or because the cold Hiber Day temperatures meant that all other food sources were hidden away, leaving the frozen frogs as the only available options the weasel had for food.

Anne felt a wave of cold dread wash over her as another, more horrifying realization washed over her.

Based on the appearances of the baby weasels, they had only just been born. That meant that the mother weasel had been the only thing taking the frogs on the past Hiber Days.

She’d only needed one frog to sustain her.

Now she had three babies, three babies to feed, three babies that would grow up into three more weasels and would need to take more frogs to sustain them.

The town of Wartwood would go from losing one citizen a year to losing four citizens a year.

Anne tensed up, raising the fire poker and butcher’s knife as she walked towards the weasel and her babies.

She couldn’t let that happen. Those frogs were her friends, her neighbors, her family….She wasn’t going to let these monsters live and keep taking them.

She had to kill them.

First the mother, then the babies. They’d be easier to deal with than the mother.

Anne looked at the weasel, staring into it’s eyes. She raised the butcher’s knife, gripping the fire poker tightly and she began getting closer and closer to the weasel, who growled at her loudly, inching forward.

Anne was about to take one more step, almost face-to-face with the great white-furred beast when she felt something weakly clamp onto her pant leg. She looked down to see one of the baby weasels, which had somehow managed to crawl out of it’s nest and was now gnawing and tugging on her pant leg, it’s eyes closed, it’s face wrinkly, and it’s grip on her weak. It was so…..

Weak.

Helpless.

Tiny…..

It didn’t know what it was doing really, and it didn’t know what it’s mother had been doing. It didn’t know that their mother’s need for food had caused her and her friends and family so much pain.

It was just a small, helpless being that needed food and help…..

Anne slowly kneeled on the ground, the baby weasel pulling away, then slowly crept back to her and sniffed at her. She slowly put the butcher’s knife down, holding her hand out, the baby weasel sniffing it and then grabbing onto her mitten, trying to tug it off of her hand.

Anne sighed, letting guilt wash over her.

She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t kill the babies, none if this was their fault.

She looked at the mother weasel, who stared at her with caution.

She couldn’t kill the mother either. The babies needed her to survive, and besides, she was only acting out of instinct. She didn’t know that she was taking away beloved friends and family members away from the frogs of Wartwood.

But then…..How was Anne going to stop her from taking the frogs of Wartwood?

Besides the frozen, immobile frogs there were no other easily obtainable and available sources of food….

Food.

Food was the only thing the weasels needed.

The need for food was why the mother weasel was going out and taking frogs in the first place.

If she could find the weasel something else to eat…Then no one would be taken.

“....Wait here. I’ll be back.” Anne said, getting up, retying her weapons to the scarf around her waist and running out, following the footsteps that she and the weasel had left on the snowy ground out of the cave, through the forest and back into Wartwood.

She got into the center of town and looked around, thinking of where she could get food, something with meat, considering the weasel was carnivorous…

Her eyes landed on the Red Larvae Deli, the owner, Mr. Pete Boggs, frozen stiff in his icy shell right next to the deli’s door. Anne raced to the door, giving it a push, the door swinging open, thankfully unlocked. Anne rushed inside, looking around for something she could quickly grab and bring to the weasel and her young.

Cured grasshopper legs and sausages made from various mixed bug meats hung on the wall behind the ordering and checkout counter, beside which was a table lined with numerous cuts of cowapillar, slug, cricket, grasshopper, and tarantula meat. Smaller meat items like maggots, beetles,flies and cut up earthworm sections were laid out on a separate table.

Anne immediately ran over and started grabbing as much meat as she could hold, ripping sausage links off their ropes and ripping a grasshopper leg down so forcefully that the hook that had been holding it up on the wall came out of the wall and came off along with the leg.

Once Anne had grabbed as much meat as she could hold, she ran back out of the deli, retracing her footsteps back to the cave. The weasel had been grooming her babies, lapping at their pink, squirming little bodies as the rolled and crawled around within their nest when Anne had come back in, dropping the meats the the floor and then backing away, hands held in front of her to show the weasel that she meant no harm to her or her babies.

”....Here….take this….this should be enough for you and your babies…..we’ll give you food from now on….please….stop taking the frogs…”

Anne doubted the creature understood a word that came out of her mouth, but felt the need to say it.

The weasel slowly inched forward,sniffing at the meat with her sliced up nose, then grabbed a cowapillar steak in her mouth, bringing it over to where the babies were and biting off chunks of it, chewing it up till it got soft before placing the chewed up meat in front of her babies,who all hungrily devoured the softened meat.

The weasel chewed up the entire steak, along with a few sausages and earthworm sections, giving the chewed meat to her babies, who devoured it and then promptly fell asleep inside their nest. The weasel then grabbed a grasshopper leg, holding it between her front paws as she tore at it, eating up.

Anne watched her eat, wanting to make sure that the weasel was satisfied with the food she’d been given and that she wasn’t still hungry for frogs. She watched as the weasel devoured the grasshopper leg, then devoured two slug steaks and a whole smoked tarantula cephalothorax before curling up around her babies and falling asleep.

A few more meat cutlets and another grasshopper leg left, but Anne decided to leave those with the weasels should they wake up and get hungry later.

Anne slowly walked out of the cave, feeling exhausted, the pain of her injuries slowly catching up to her. She walked back to Wartwood, going into town and walking past the frozen frogs as she made her way back home,feeling…. Bitter.

All this fear, all this pain for all these years, and all they’d had to do was just leave out some meat and they'dve been spared.

It was such a simple solution, yet no one had thought to do it, and as a result loved ones had been lost. Eaten by the weasel.

…..Should she really have spared the weasel’s life?

After all, she had killed and eaten numerous friends and neighbors and had even tried to take Hop Pop.

She was a monster.

Anne was a coward for not killing her and her frogforesaken young….

…...No.

No. The weasel didn’t know what she was doing. She was a stupid animal who’s brain was wired only to survive and to help her offspring survive. She didn’t know her food was an actual living, sentient, intelligent being that had friends and family that would mourn them.

Anne sighed heavily, eventually finding herself back at the Plantar’s farm, suddenly realizing that she had no way to get inside.

“Son of a motherfucking snail fucker….”

She sighed frustratedly, rubbing her temples as she thought of how she could get inside. She remembered the snow-blocked entrance in the basement….She could try and dig up the snow and get inside.

She went around the back of the house, seeing the handle of a small shovel sticking out of the snow. She went over and grabbed it, pulling it out from the snow and frozen ground. She then went over to the area where the basement opening was, a large bank of snow obscuring the opening from sight.

Anne quickly got to work on shoveling the snow away, her injured left arm aching even more as she continuously shoveled till the opening became visible.

She tossed the shovel aside, using her hands to dig away at the rest of the snow till the entrance became cleared, Anne slowly sitting on the ground and scooting towards the opening, her feet and legs going into the opening, then her thighs, hips, stomach, Anne using her arms to push herself through the opening till she’d slid inside, landing on her feet, legs shaking slightly.

She slowly made her way up the basement stairs,getting out of the basement and slamming the basement door shut once she was out. She took her scarf-belt off along with her coat, mittens and hat as she walked upstairs and got into the bathroom, rolling her sleeves up to examine the injuries on her arms.

The scrapes on her elbows were red and shiny, they weren’t bleeding but were still sore and were showing signs of weeping, and the four puncture wounds in her arm were hurting like hell and still bleeding a little. She turned the bathroom sink faucet on to hot water, feeling the water and drawing back, shivering violently.

The water was icy cold, likely due to the pipes being frozen just like everything and everyone else in Wartwood.

She huffed, turning the sink off and grabbing the small first aid supplies kit they kept in the cupboard above the sink, going out of the bathroom and going down to the kitchen to heat up some water to wash her wounds with.

She put the first aid kit on the kitchen table and then went over to the wood burning stove that doubled as an oven, putting a few small,thick,dry branches and twigs that were kept nearby for kindling on to the stone stovetop and then grabbing the matches off a nearby side table,grabbing a match out and striking it against the box,watching a bright orange flame appear at the top.

She put the match onto the bed of twigs and branches, watching it ignite, then feeding the growing fire more twigs and branches till it was just the right size,not big enough to burn the house down but not so small it’d be easily snuffed out. She grabbed some charcoal briquettes from a burlap sack near the entrance to the kitchen, placing them on top of the fire to help kindle the fire and keep it going. Then she grabbed a ladle that had been hanging in the wall nearby and went over to the bucket of water that they all used for drinking and cooking water, getting ladles of water and bringing them over to the large snail shell pot that hung above the slowly warming stove.

Once she had enough water warming in the pot, she went to the kitchen table and opened up the first aid kit, finding a roll of bandages, a tiny tub of some kind of disinfectant ointment, small scissors, tweezers,some gauze woven from sturdy spider webs and an eyepatch should anyone need it.

She took out the roll of bandages and the ointment- She’d definitely be needing those- Then went and got a rag that had been sitting on the table where Hop Pop cut meats and such. It looked clean enough, it’d do for cleaning up her wounds.

She went back to the snail shell pot, seeing the water coming to a boil inside it. She grabbed the ladle again, bringing a ladle of the boiling hot water up and blowing on it to cool it down a bit before dipping the rag in it, bringing the warm, wet cloth to one of the puncture wounds in her arm.

She winced as she felt the wound sting, seeing dark red seep through the cloth. She applied some pressure to the wound, hoping that it’d help with the pain and bleeding. After a few seconds, she pulled the cloth away, then dipped it back in the water, dabbing the wound again and again until less and less blood showed up on the cloth.

She repeated the process with the other puncture wounds, making sure each one was thoroughly cleaned up before opening the tub of ointment, dipping a finger into the thick, greasy, pale yellow substance and dabbing it onto each puncture, hoping that it’d keep them from getting infected. Once everyone had thawed, she’d go find Dr. Brook, the town doctor, and ask her to tend to the wounds just in case she hadn’t done a good enough job, but for now this would have to do.

She grabbed the roll of bandages, slowly wrapping them around her arm till the wounds were covered, then picked up the scissors and cut the bandage, tucking the loose ends into the bandage wrap. Once she was satisfied with how she’d treated the punctures, the got to work on the scrapes on her elbows and knees, washing her elbows well, applying ointment, and then wrapping the bandages around them, rolling up her pants and doing the same with the weeping scrapes on her knees.

Once her wounds were dressed, she got up, her stomach growling loudly with the hunger she had completely forgotten about when she’d encountered the weasel.

She sighed, looking around, spotting a plate with half of a sandwich on it. Must’ve been Hop Pop, Sprig or Polly’s breakfast from that morning. She went over and grabbed it, gently lifting up the top slice of bread to see what was inside.

Fried cricket belly, lettuce, mustard, and some incredibly overcooked onions.

It’d taste alright, but it’d probably taste a bit better toasted.

Anne found a frying pan and put it on the stove under the snail shell pot, dropping the sandwich half in and toasting it on both sides, quickly devouring the sandwich half, thankful to have some nice warm food in her stomach.

As she began cleaning up the kitchen, the fire dying down and the sky outside growing dark, Anne felt a wave of exhaustion pass over her, all the action of that day hitting her like a sack of bricks.

She finished cleaning up, then slowly made her out of the kitchen, shivering as she left the warmth of the kitchen and entered the cold of the rest of the house, going upstairs to her and Sprig’s room and practically falling into bed, not even changing into her bedclothes as she wrapped her bedsheets around her, shivering and closing her eyes, letting sleep take her over and pull her into it’s deep, comforting darkness.

________________________________________________________________________________

Anne awoke late the next morning, sunlight streaming through the bedroom window and the room suddenly unbelievably humid, Anne throwing off the bedsheets immediately, sweating so badly that her clothes were soaked through.

The events of the previous day slowly came back to her, a collection of emotions crashing into her as the events replayed inside her head.

Guilt, doubt, bitterness….

Panic.

She shot out of bed, wincing as her sore, wounded body was suddenly jostled from its previous position, then quickly went out and made her way out of her and Sprig’s room,speeding downstairs just as Hop Pop,Sprig and Polly came in, the three frogs looking up at her with joy and relief, then with a sudden worry and shock as they saw her bandaged up arms and knees.

”ANNE! WHAT IN FROG’S NAME HAPPENED TO YA?!?” Hop Pop yelled, rushing over to his human grandchild, grabbing her left arm and examining it with worry in his eyes.

“Long story….I….I need to tell the others something….Is anyone missing?” Anne asked.

“No!! It’s a miracle! We counted everyone and no one went missing this year!!” Sprig said happily, jumping up and down with sheer happiness, Polly giggling and bouncing around him..

Anne would have smiled and joined them in their hopping, but her body was too sore and her emotions were weighing down on her like concrete blocks. She pulled away from Hop Pop and went outside, breathing in the smell of wet earth and warm air.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, the grass and plants an almost glowingly bright green, the flowers all in full bloom, and every frog in the village was out and about, talking with one another, hopping and jumping around, embracing one another and rejoicing the fact that Hiber Day was over and not a single frog had been lost to the dreaded day.

Anne started walking away, ignoring Hop Pop calling after her and the jubilant frogs dancing and running around her, making her way into the center of town, right where the statue of the town founder stood. She stood beside the statue and cleared her throat, then cupped her hands around her mouth.

“EVERYONE!!! EVERYONE I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!!!” She yelled.

Every frog in Wartwood stopped what they were doing, a few coming closer as Anne breathed in and out, trying to ease her nerves and think of how she was going to tell them about what had happened.

“What is it Anne? Has someone gone missin’ that we forgot to check for?” Mayor Toadstool asked, eyeing Anne’s bandaged arms.

“No! No….It’s not that…..” Anne said, sighing.

“I….I know that, for these past few Hiber Days, I’ve kept myself inside or have slept through while you all had to face the danger of being taken. Many of you lost loved ones while I stayed safe inside…..That wasn’t right of me, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t do anything before….”

“Dangit Anne none of that was your fault!!” Hop Pop called, walking up into town, Anne getting nervous as to how he’d react to what she was about to say next.

“This year, I decided that I wasn’t gonna hide anymore, Because I didn’t want anyone else being taken….So...I snuck out of my house and stayed up…”

“YOU WHAT?!?! ANNE HOW THE HELL DID YOU EVEN GET OUT??? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA THE DANGER YOU COULD”VE BEEN IN??” Hop Pop yelled at her, shocked and furious that she’d disobeyed him and had put herself in harm’s way.

“YES HOP POP I DO!! BECAUSE I FOUND OUT WHAT”S BEEN TAKING EVERYONE!!”

Everything suddenly went dead silent.

Every frog in Wartwood stared at Anne, mouths agape, eyes wide.

“You….You did? What was it?!?!?” Mayor Toadstool asked, coming closer, his eyes wider than Anne had ever seen them.

Anne breathed in deeply, sighing shakily before giving her answer.

“.....A weasel. A giant weasel with three babies. She was just trying to find food and on Hiber Day you guys are the only available prey she has, so……”

“....Did it attack you?” One frog asked.

“Yes….I didn’t get anything serious, just got touched by her teeth.” Anne pointed to her left arm, everyone gasping.

“What happened after it attacked you? Did you kill it??” Another frog asked.

Anne felt guilt and shame was over her, looking away as she gave her response.

“.....I….I couldn’t kill her…..She and her babies are still alive. I….I stole some meats from the Deli and they ate those and fell asleep…..If we can just leave out some meat for her to take on Hiber Day, then from here on out no one will be taken….At least I think so…I hope so....I’m sorry I stole those meats from you, Mr. Boggs…”

Anne turned to the deli owner, who was smiling, eyes full of joy and relief.

“You think I care about that? You stealin’ from me saved us all! Hell if it means that no one goes missing from here on out, you go ahead and steal from me every year!!” Mr. Boggs said, chuckling.

Everyone began laughing and cheering, huddling around Anne and hugging her or shaking her hands.

Anne froze, feeling….Awful.

She didn’t deserve any of this. She could've killed the weasels and spared them from both losing more frogs and having to put out meat every year and hoping it worked.

“......I….No….Guys….Don’t…..I could've killed them and saved us from having to put meat out….And it still….We can’t get back those we lost...I should’ve..”

“Killing doesn’t solve everything Anne, you found out what was taking us and found a way to stop it from taking us, and now we all know what to do on Hiber Day so that no one else goes missing ever again, and that’s all that matters. You’ve saved us, Anne.” Mrs. Croaker said, hugging Anne tight, Anne wincing as the bruises on her stomach left from her fall from the chimney had pressure applied to them.

Once everyone had thanked Anne and had gone back to celebrating, Anne had gone to Dr. Brook’s office, the doctor checking her wounds out and then re-cleaning and treating the puncture wound on Anne’s arm, charging her nothing for her services, stating that it was the least she could do for Anne after all she’d gone through for them.

Anne walked back from the doctor’s office, waving and smiling at numerous frogs as they thanked her as she passed through town, slowly getting back to the Plantar’s house, a very upset Hop Pop standing in front of the front door.

” I can’t believe you would do that Anne, you were supposed to stay here and stay safe and look what happened!! You could’ve been killed!”

“I had to do it, Hop Pop….Otherwise we’d just keep losing our friends…”

“Anne-”

“IT WAS GOING TO TAKE YOU!!”

Hop Pop stared at her, taking a minute to process what she’d said.

”.....You mean….I was gonna be taken?”

“YEAH!! YOU JUST EXPECT ME TO SIT INSIDE AND LET YOU GET TAKEN??? YOU THINK I SHOULD’VE JUST LET IT TAKE YOU AND LEAVE ME, SPRIG AND POLLY WITHOUT YOU??? And what about everyone else?!? I could’ve stayed up back when I was a little kid and we could've found out about the weasel sooner, and then maybe all the others wouldn’t have gone missing, but because you’re SELFISH and only care about YOUR family and how YOU would be affected, you made me stay inside and locked me up so that I couldn’t do anything!!!”

Tears were leaking out of Anne’s eyes, her breathing heavy and labored as Hop Pop stared at her with a mixture of shock, guilt and hurt.

”.....Anne….I just didn’t want to risk losing you….You’re just a kid, you shouldn’t have to worry about savin’ anyone….I told you that before…..No one expected you to go out there and hunt down whatever was takin’ us…”

He sighed deeply, looking down.

“........I lost Sprig and Polly’s parents, and…..After going through all that, I never wanted to know what it was like to feel that kind of loss ever again. I…I…”

Hop Pop sat down, head in his hands. “......I didn’t think about you, Sprig and Polly feelin’ that kind of loss yourselves. I didn’t want to…..”

“.....I already lost my parents, Hop Pop….I don’t wanna lose you too…That’s the only thing I ever thought about every Hiber Day….I didn’t want to lose you, or Sprig, or Polly…. And yesterday that almost happened….….” Anne wiped her tears away with her hands, looking down at Hop Pop with pain in her eyes, the old frog looking up at her with just as much pain in his own eyes.

“....I’m sorry Anne...I’m…..I’m sorry you had to feel that way and….. Thank you for savin’ my life…...I don’t know how I can repay you for that….”

Hop Pop sighed, getting up and opening the front door .”.......Come inside, it’ll be lunchtime soon…”

Anne slowly walked forward, the old frog closing the door as she got inside, then going over and hugging her tight.

”.....Please don’t do anythin’ like that again…...I don’t wanna lose you either…”

Anne slowly kneeled down, hugging him back tightly, fighting back more tears.

“....I won't….I’m sorry…” She said softly.

“.....It’s alright….It’s alright now……” Hop Pop soothed, tightening his embrace.

After a few minutes, Anne got up, both she and Hop Pop trying to compose themselves before going into the kitchen, Sprig and Polly racing after Anne.

“ So Anne, how’d you get out of the house??? How’d you find the weasel?? Did you fight it???” Sprig asked, jumping in his chair.

“Did you get any cool battle wounds from it??” Polly asked, eyes wide.

Anne smiled, sitting down beside him as Hop Pop got to work making lunch, still looking at Anne.

She was a strong girl, she could fight for herself, but that didn’t stop him from worrying about her.

For as strong as she was, she still had a big heart, always willing to fight for others before fighting for herself, always putting herself in harm’s way for the sake of a loved one, always merciful and forgiving.

He knew that these were all very good qualities for her to have.

But he also knew that she was naive and impulsive, and when you put those two traits with the other traits, trouble could arise.

There were times when he wished that she didn’t have such a big heart, wasn’t so quick to do for others, and wasn't so kind.

But then that wouldn’t be the Anne he knew and loved.

Without that big heart of hers, she wouldn’t be Anne.

Hop Pop sighed, looking away from the human girl as he continued on with making lunch.

For as much as he loved that big heart of hers…..He just hoped that it wouldn’t get her into trouble someday.