Work Text:
Butters and the Tree
PART I
IT WAS A SPECIAL DAY FOR THE BOYS - they were going on a camping trip with uncle Jimbo for the weekend. The boys were waiting for Butters outside of his house. He came out through the door with his mother standing behind him.
Mrs. Stotch: “Okay, Butters. Be safe now, and have fun on your camping trip!”
Butters: “I will, mom! Love you.”
She closes the door as he walks to Jimbo’s truck to sit with the others, who were waiting for him to get on. He hops on and sets his things down. He then sits down.
Butters: “How’s it goin’, fellas?”
Cartman: “What took you so long? Felt like we were waiting here all afternoon!”
Kyle: “Shut up, fatass. It’s nice for you to come along, Butters.”
Stan: “Yeah, it feels like a rarity when you come outside to do anything.
Kenny: (muffled speech)
Butters: “It’s the least I could do.”
Jimbo gets in the truck and tells the kids to hold on tight, since they were on the back of the truck. The engine started with a pop, and they were off. It took some time before they made it to the woods. As soon as they made it to their destination…
Jimbo: “Alright, boys! Hop on off now, we gotta get set up!”
One by one, they got off. Jimbo went over to the trailer behind the truck and unloaded the camping gear it carried. Everybody took each item to set up, and got to work. A few hours passed before everything was ready, and all that was left was to set a fire for the evening.
Jimbo: “We just need some firewood and we’re pretty much set for the night. Think you boys could find some?”
The boys were more than willing to, and searched for loose branches. While looking, Butters came upon a massive, vibrant tree surrounded by broken wood. He almost felt like the tree was staring down upon him, which disturbed him in a way, but just decided to pay no mind to it and head back to the campsite. The wood was placed and the fire was lit. Everyone sat around it, and started talking. Of course, Cartman decided to tease Butters for his timid nature.
Cartman: “Hey, Butters. Heh, heh. What would you do if one of the trees just came to life in the middle of the night?”
Butters: “I’d be fearin’ for my life! I wouldn’t stick around for that!”
Cartman: “HA! You wouldn’t stick around for that? You wouldn’t branch out with it? You’d just LEAF !? *laughs loudly*”
Stan: “C’mon, dude. Don’t scare him with that crap.”
Kyle: “What did you think he was gonna say with a thing as stupid as that?”
Cartman: “Well, excuse me for having just a li’l harmless fun, assholes.”
Jimbo: “Now, boys, let’s not go arguing. S’ only the first night, so let’s just enjoy it!”
At about 8 pm, everybody pulled out sleeping bags and said their goodnights.
PART II
EVERYBODY WAS SOUND ASLEEP. Time passed slowly and all was quiet until a low, creaking bellow sounded throughout the forest. Nobody was bothered by this, but Butters woke up to see if anything was nearby. Of course, he saw nothing and thought it was in his imagination, and then laid back down to sleep. Not even a minute after he went back to sleep, the noise sounded again, awakening Butters once again. This began to scare him, and thought the only logical thing to do was grab his flashlight and look for where the noise was coming from.
Butters: “Hello…? Is somethin’ out here?”
He headed east of the campsite, where the noise grew louder and louder. He began to worry, thinking whatever was out here was hostile no matter what he would face, be it a bear or a buck.
Butters: “Hello? Is that the Manbearpig?”
The noise was as loud as it could be, and Butters turned in every direction, but saw nothing.
Butters: “H… hello…?”
Finally, he heard it once more, but it was very quiet… as if it was right behind him. He turned around and, to his horror… a giant tree creature stood there, looming over him with glowing yellow eyes, completely mute. Butters finally screamed.
Butters: “AAH!! WHAT ARE YOU!?”
Of course, the creature said nothing. It just stood there, watching him cower.
Butters: “PLEASE DON’T HURT ME, MISTER TREE MONSTER SIR! I DON’T WANNA BE EATEN! I…!”
The creature squatted down to the ground, holding its hand out to him. Butters didn’t know what to do. He was still scared for his life, but the creature wasn’t doing anything, just staying still.
Butters: “You’re… you’re not gonna hurt me…?”
That’s when he noticed a small green leaf on its hand, faintly glowing. Butters reached out and touched it, before the creature slowly closed its hand. Light beamed from the cracks between its fingers before opening its hand back up - revealing the leaf now has Butters’s face on it. He was shocked, but he began to feel that the creature didn’t want to harm him.
Butters: “You don’t want to hurt me? What are you…?”
Before he could say anything else, the creature slowly wrapped its arms around him, gently hugging him. Butters, though still slightly confused, felt comforted by this and went to hug it back.
Butters: “So, you don’t wanna hurt me. You just wanna be my friend.”
The creature then lifted him up and sat down, effectively cradling Butters in its arms. He felt at ease with this situation.
Butters: "I feel loads better. Hmm… maybe I should give you a name, just so we don't forget each other."
Before he could think of a name, the creature held a finger to the ground, next to some roots. The roots moved slowly to form letters, and those letters formed its name - "Ahorn".
Butters: "Ahorn? That's your name? I'm Butters."
Ahorn creaked softly to try and "say" his name. Of course, this doesn't exactly work, but Butters wasn't unhappy about it.
Butters: "I think we'll be best friends, Ahorn. G'night… big buddy."
He fell asleep in Ahorn's arms without any discomfort, and Ahorn fell asleep shortly after. Throughout the rest of the night, the forest was quiet and peaceful.
PART III
THE NEXT MORNING BUTTERS WOKE UP and heard the other boys shout his name. He sat up and saw them searching for him.
Kyle: "Butters!? Where are you, dude!?"
Stan: "Butters!? You out here!?"
Cartman: "Hey, Butters!? I'm sorry for screwing with you, now come out!"
Kenny: (muffled shouting)
He leaned forward and called them over.
Butters: "I'm up here, fellas!"
They ran up to the tree, relieved to see that he's okay. They then started questioning why he's out here and not back at camp and, more importantly, why he's up in a tree.
Kyle: "We were worried sick about you! Why did you wander away from the campsite?"
Cartman: "Yeah, and why are you up in a tree?"
Butters's response to them was…
Butters: "This ain't no ordinary tree, fellas! This is Ahorn! Ahorn, wake up and say hi!"
Unfortunately, the tree remained completely still. The boys were puzzled by this.
Stan: "What?"
Kyle: "Um… can you run that by me again?"
Butters was confused by this. Ahorn was living and breathing last night, and now he's not moving an inch.
Butters: "Ahorn? Ahorn, wake up! Please?"
The boys began to grow concerned about Butters. They genuinely didn't understand this behavior.
Cartman: "Dude, are you okay? You didn't eat any mushrooms while you were out here, did you?"
Butters couldn't believe it. He thought he had to be asleep. He had to be! But he wasn't moving at all. He was completely inanimate.
Butters: "Come on, fellas! He's just tired is all! C'mon, wake up, wake up, wake up…"
Stan: "Dude, just get down from there. We're going fishing and we need somebody to help carry the tackle."
Butters, in denial but knowing he's incapable of doing anything, climbs down from the tree and walks with the boys back to camp, looking back at Ahorn and saying to himself…
Butters: "Why wouldn't you wake up, Ahorn?"
By the time they made it to the lake, they dropped the tackle on the ground and waited for Jimbo with the fishing poles.
Jimbo: "Okie-dokie, boys! Steel on up and catch some lunkers!"
They each took a pole and readied some lures. Afterwards, they casted out and waited for biting. A couple hours passed before the low creaking echoed throughout the forest. The boys looked around, confused.
Kyle: "Did you guys hear that?"
Stan: "Yeah. What WAS that?"
Kenny: (muffled speech)
Stan: "Ha, ha, ha! Yeah, it did sound like a super bad fart!"
Cartman: "Hey, guys! I think I caught something! Something freakin' BIG!"
Butters knew it was Ahorn making that noise, but he said nothing, knowing that the others wouldn't believe him. Cartman managed to pull in a catfish of… unremarkable size. The others laughed at him.
Cartman: "Aw, this stupid fish ain't big at all!"
Stan: "Hey, dude, maybe you should put less effort into catching small fries!"
Cartman: "SHUT UP!"
Sad that Ahorn wasn't here, Butters barely fished, mostly letting the line dangle over the water, and sat out in the sunlight. A moment after, shade started to cover his head. He looked up and saw Ahorn standing over him with an arm stretched out towards the water.
Butters: "Thanks, Ahorn!"
The others looked over where Butters sat, wondering about him and this "Ahorn" character. It wasn't long before Kenny noticed the giant tree standing behind him.
Kenny: (muffled speech)
Kyle: "You know what? I didn't notice that tree over there, either."
Stan: "What are you talking about?"
Kyle: "You didn't see that massive tree over there? A few minutes ago, he was sitting right there in the sun. Now, a tree's standing there!"
Stan: "I… guess I don't understand."
They ignored it, thinking that maybe it was there to begin with. But only Butters knew that it clearly wasn't. Eventually, he hooked a bass fit for eating. He brought it over to Jimbo.
Jimbo: "Nice catch, buddy! That oughta be good for eating later on."
Stan: "That thing has to be thirteen pounds, tops."
Kyle: "You think that's big? Look at what Kenny hauled in!"
Kenny lugged a hulking trout over to Jimbo. Cartman, obviously jealous, nearly threw his pole into the lake, but of course, didn't.
Jimbo: "Now, THAT is a catch! Twenty-two, I reckon!"
Butters: "Gosh! Isn't that heavy, Kenny?"
Kenny: (muffled speech, huffing)
Stan: "That thing has to be a record breaker for sure."
After finishing up, they put their catch in a tarp and took it back to camp. Later that evening, they readied it for supper.
Stan: "Hey, you guys think people eat the dick of a fish?"
Cartman: "Heh. I bet they do."
Kenny: (muffled laughter)
Kyle: "Jesus Christ, don't gross me out of having supper, man."
Stan: "Hey, it was only a thought."
Cartman: "Yeah, a really funny one."
Butters sat and ate alone up against a tree. Kyle took notice and asked…
Kyle: "Dude? Why don't you come over to the fire? It ain't hurting anybody."
Butters: "I know. I'm just sitting with my buddy Ahorn is all."
Stan grew tired of hearing him say that name.
Stan: "WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND THIS AHORN GUY!?"
Kyle stood up and kept Stan back from Butters, trying to calm him down.
Kyle: "Dude, chill out! Just let Butters imagine what he wants."
Stan: "I… I'm sorry. It's just… I've been hearing him say that name so many times, I'm just annoyed by it at this point."
Butters: "Why don't you guys believe me? I swear Ahorn is real, he's alive! He's just shy, that's all!"
Stan: "Look, man. I'm not trying to be mean or make you out to be crazy, but the only way you'll get me to believe you is if you show me that he's real, that he's alive."
Butters: "Alright then! I'll do it! I'll prove to you that he's alive! Be ready for me to wake you up!"
Stan rolls his eyes and turns away. Cartman just snickers and says…
Cartman: "Heh. Ahorn. Heh. Real. Yeah, right."
Hearing him say this causes Butters to lash out.
Butters: "HE IS REAL, YOU FAT IDIOT!"
He falls backwards and bursts into tears. Cartman was silent and dumbfounded; he wasn't expecting such a violent reaction from Butters. Kyle holds Butters and consoles him.
Kyle: "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't a kid have an imaginary friend?"
Cartman: "Hey, man! I'm not against that at all!"
Butters: "I'M TELLING YOU DINKS, HE IS REAL! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME!?"
Butters began crying even louder. Now Cartman felt bad and went over to him to calm him down.
Cartman: "Come on, stop cryin'! I didn't mean what I said, really, I didn't!"
Jimbo came over and separated them. He decided maybe now was the time to get everyone to sleep. Stan kept out of it, pretending not to listen to it while Kenny just sat and did nothing the entire time.
Jimbo: "Why don't you sleep in the tent for tonight, Butters? Don't worry about me, it ain't the first time I slept outside."
Butters, still shaken up and watering in the eyes, agrees to this and heads into the tent. Everyone else stayed outside, still feeling awful about the words exchanged.
Cartman: "I really don't know why that happened. I said one thing and then he blew a fuse."
Kyle: "You're so damn STUPID. You literally stated what Butters was talking about was fake. Do you think he's able to put up with that?"
Stan: "Oh, my GOD! CAN YOU TWO PACK IT IN ALREADY!?"
Jimbo: "Alright, that's ENOUGH! All of you, STOP IT! Just let Butters calm down and we can all forget about this."
Everyone went to sleep, but surely they won't forget this.
PART IV
IT WAS QUIET, NOBODY SAYING ANYTHING. Stan lied awake, thinking of the hate he believes he has wrought upon everyone. That's when he heard the fly to the tent unzip, and saw Butters peering out from inside before sneaking out.
Stan: "Butters? What are you doing?"
Butters: "I'm going to see Ahorn."
Stan: "Oh, come on. Not this shit again…"
With Butters going further from the campsite, Stan wakes the other boys up.
Stan: "Come on, fellas. We gotta keep up with Butters."
Kyle: "I'm thinking he's taken this Ahorn thing a bit too seriously."
Kenny: (muffled whispering)
Cartman: "Does he still believe in that Ahorn crap? Goddammit, man…"
The boys followed him for a few minutes, before Stan turned his head to the others.
Stan: "I'm honestly worried about Butters."
Kyle: "You're telling me. I honestly didn't think he'd be so defensive about all of this."
Cartman: "I think he's just taking it too personally."
Kyle: "Man, what the hell do you know? You're the one who made him freak out in the way he did."
Cartman: "Oh, my GOD, give it a rest already. I didn't think he'd freak out."
Stan: "Clearly, you did if you were laughing about it."
Cartman: "Well, you know what, maybe I meant to do it, maybe I didn't!"
Kyle: "You're just cruel, to no-- oh, sweet baby Jesus! Stan, look in front of you!"
Stan: "What's in front of--"
They all stopped, mouths agape, as they saw Butters sat upon the shoulder of Ahorn in all of his glory. He was smiling.
Butters: "How's it goin', fellas? Glad you could come along!"
Ahorn looked down at them as they looked up at him in shock. They all look at one another before they could even utter a syllable of a word.
Stan: "So, he IS real…"
Kenny: (muffled speech)
Kyle: "He's… beautiful."
Cartman: "Well, I'll be damned."
Butters laughed.
Butters: "So, you guys finally believe me. Whatcha have to say for yourselves?"
Having finally seen Ahorn in person, they all knew that Butters wasn't imagining or lying. He was, plain and simple, speaking the truth.
All: "We're sorry."
Stan: "I honestly thought you were making it up, but… now that I see it, I believe it."
Kyle: "So, he wasn't imaginary after all."
Cartman: "I… revoke everything I have said prior to this point."
Butters smiles and forgives them. Ahorn holds his hand out to them, with four glowing leaves on it. The boys were puzzled by this.
Butters: "I think he wants you to touch 'em. I did with one."
They hesitated, but then figured they didn't have anything to lose. They each grasped a leaf and Ahorn closed his hand. Light beamed from the cracks of his fingers before opening his hand back up to show that all four leaves have their faces on them. They, of course, were shocked by this.
Cartman: "Okay, this is officially the WEIRDEST thing I have ever seen."
Kyle: "How…?"
Stan: "Our faces are on the leaves. Our FACES are ON the LEAVES ."
Kenny: (muffled whispering)
Ahorn slowly reached his arms out, wrapping them around the boys, slowly and gently hugging them all. They had mixed reactions, but in the end they all were calm.
Cartman: "Oh… okay. Still kinda weird."
Kyle: "I… I'm happy with this. Not even kidding, I feel happy with this."
Stan: "I'm not… scared? Why am I not scared?"
Kenny: (sigh)
Not before long, Jimbo was calling for them, having known they left the campsite. He was searching with his oil lantern.
Jimbo: "Boys? Where are you?"
They called him over, and he too saw Ahorn, with the boys surrounding him.
Jimbo: "Now, what do we have here?"
Butters: "This is my friend, Ahorn!"
Stan: "He's really nice, uncle Jimbo. I thought he wasn't real!"
Jimbo: "Well, that's nice. Um, I hate to break things up, but we oughta get back to camp. Don't know what might be--"
It was at this moment that they all heard a squeal followed by a roar. They only had one answer as to what it was. It was…
All: " MANBEARPIG!!! "
The demented creature came out from the darkness, squealing and roaring. They were all scared for their lives.
Jimbo: "MAKE FOR THE TRUCK, BOYS!"
They all started running, with Manbearpig following behind them. They were tiring out, but the truck was so close! They all stopped and Manbearpig slowed down to stand up. The boys were cowering in fear. This was the end.
Stan: "It was nice knowing you guys!"
Kyle: "I'm not ready to die again!"
Cartman: "I WANT MY MOMMY!"
Kenny: (muffled crying)
Jimbo: "God, if only I had my gun right now!"
Butters: "Ahorn! Wherever you are, HELP!!! "
Before the twisted monster could strike to kill them… BOOMPH! Roots shot up from the ground and surrounded the boys. Manbearpig snarled before he heard a howl. He turned around to see Ahorn lumbering towards him. Manbearpig lunged towards Ahorn, only to be smacked away by Ahorn's incredible brawn. Ahorn steps towards Manbearpig, who was shaken up but managed to stand back up. He swiped at Ahorn and clawed his face, which affected him minimally. Ahorn raised his leg and shunted his foe hard enough for him to practically fly backwards and hit a tree. Manbearpig was weak, heavily battered after the impact. Ahorn grasped Manbearpig's throat and stared into his eyes, before his eyes went black. His face began to deform into a horrid expression before letting out a hollow roar. This was enough to make Manbearpig squeal before breaking from his grip and fleeing in terror. Ahorn's face returned to normal and his eyes glowed again before turning back to the group.
Stan: "Oh, my God. He drove him away!"
Kyle: "We're saved, we're saved!"
Cartman: "He made Manbearpig run, holy shit!"
Kenny: (muffled cheering)
Jimbo: "Well, I'll be!"
Butters ran up to Ahorn and hugged him, tears streaming down his face.
Butters: "You're the best friend a kid could ever have! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Everyone was happy to have survived. They all went back to camp to start packing.
ENDING
The boys were packing things before the sun rose. Butters was sitting with Ahorn.
Butters: "I can't thank you enough, Ahorn. You saved me and my friends from that monster. You're the bestest friend I ever had."
After all the gear was packed and stored, Jimbo called out to Butters, saying that it's time to go. Butters found it incredibly hard to say goodbye.
Butters: "I wish I could stay… but, my mom and dad are waitin' for me. I don't wanna leave you here, but I…"
He began to cry, knowing he couldn't bear to leave a friend who went out of his way to save him. But Ahorn knew what to do - he reached to the top of his head where a crown of branches grew, snapped one of them off, and handed it to Butters. That's when Ahorn… finally spoke.
Ahorn: "Friend… … take… with you…"
Butters wiped the tears from his eyes.
Butters: "Wha…? One of your branches?"
Ahorn: "Plant… … back… home…"
Butters: "You… you want me to plant this back at home?"
Ahorn: "Friend… … be… with you…"
Butters choked up, but he knew what he wanted him to do. If he planted the branch back at home, Ahorn will never be far from Butters… he can be with him whenever he needs him. He nodded, hugged him and said goodbye. He headed for the truck and they were off.
Kyle: "What'd he give you the branch for?"
Butters: "So he and I aren't far apart, Kyle… so he and I aren't far apart."
As they went further from the woods, Ahorn waved and said…
Ahorn: "Goodbye… … my friend…"
THE END.