Work Text:
The air was tense and stifled in Wartwood. It was as if Guardian had thought about what would complement the atmosphere below and settled on drizzle. Tiny drops fell on the town center and burned like sparks. Contrasting but unfortunately true. The crowd, almost all dressed in black, gathered with their heads bowed at the three lotus flowers surrounded by candles just beyond the Statue of Heart.
The lotus on the left was decorated with yellow lights. There were coins around it. It looked like it wanted to show its golden color. There was a turquoise one on the right. This lotus had a more natural look. A red reed was attached to it. Next to it was an accordion, worn from years of use. On the other side was a wax sculpture. A creature that looked like it was made out of a bush.
In the center is a pink lotus accompanied by various tea leaves. Despite the fragrance, it seemed to make people cry more than it enchanted them. Next to that was a porcelain cup and saucer, appropriate to the view. And the green flowers. The ones she always wears in her hair.
No one was speaking. Slight sobbing sounds were sometimes heard. There were those who took shelter under an umbrella and those who rested on each other's shoulders. Sprig Plantar was one of those who, together with his grandfather and sister, went under an umbrella that was about to shatter.
Yesterday, when he was helping the wounded ones on the north side of the valley, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Wartwood was a seasoned and tough town. He was talking about one of the two cities that had seen the greatest battle of Amphibia and hosted 3 great heroes. It wasn't easy to bust this place like this. But those goddamn rebels had finally succeeded. They had suffered losses here that they had not suffered even in the Great War. Sprig had been taught, of course, that there were always losses. For example, her parents.
But it had never seemed so real to him. Seeing it with his own eyes was something else.
When there was movement in the crowd, he came out of his trance and turned in front of him. It was the arrival everyone had been waiting for, and he was none other than the head of Wartwood. His slightly whitening gray hair was disheveled and the monocle slipped from his dark eyes that starting to turn red. His skin was pale, his face was sunken. Half of his clothes were torn. But he didn't seem to care. He shouted in a voice that was hoarse at the beginning of his work but grew stronger with time and experience.
"Residents of Wartwood! I would like to express my gratitude to each and every one of you for being here at such an important moment. As you know, it took us a long time to recover from the Great War. And the rebels haven't helped much. Like recent events. From now on, it is up to us to stick together and carry on the legacy of those who have passed away. I assure you they would–"
Toadie coughed. Anyone who looked at him could see that tears were choking his throat.
"They would have wanted us to stand up and carry on. So keep going. Don't let their sacrifice go to waste."
The crowd made a unanimous sound of approval. It was the first noise they had made together since they had gathered. And last.
"Thank you for coming here. Those who want to volunteer to help can stay here. I wish everyone a good day."
Helper ones are there already. The frogs whose houses had been repaired began to scatter. A few went into Stumpy's diner. Even fewer lined up at the stand to buy medicine potions from Maddie, like Sprig, Hop Pop and Polly. When the rebels arrived, they hadn't counted on an expert healer among them. And Maddie managed to turn it into a real opportunity. They owed it to her that there were not too many casualties.
"It feels like a dream." Polly watched the line with a frown. She took the umbrella from Hop Pop and started to hold it herself. She felt like she had to do something.
"I know kiddo. It's not easy to accept loss. Especially when it's someone close to you." He rubbed his back and moved forward when he saw it was his turn.
"Hello Maddie."
"Hop Pop. It's so good to see you alive actually. Here you go." She bent down slightly and quickly took out bottles from the boxes at the bottom, as if on automatic. "The ones with the blue cap are for back pain. The green ones are for infection. The white ones are painkiller."
She handed the bottles to Polly. The young frog stuffed it all in her bag. When Hop Pop groaned as he turned, she looked to him. The way he rubbed his back didn't seem like a good sign.
"Now that that's settled, let's go and– Sprig?"
He was sure that an orange hair had just caught his eye. He clenched his fists. She's still working? Did she sleep last night?
"You guys go ahead. I'll stay to help."
Help someone.
Polly took Hop Pop's arm and nodded. Hop Pop must not have meant to tell them that his back pain was getting worse, of all things. But Sprig knew he would be fine. Polly wasn't just a mechanically gifted frog. She also knew how to deal with patients. So he smiled as he watched them from behind as they stepped towards the house. First smile of the day.
Then that smile faded as the orange hair reappeared in his field of vision. Leaves and twigs were stuck in her hair, but she didn't seem to realize it. Half of her cloak was burnt. The right leg of her pants was torn. He wasn't surprised. Most people's clothes were already tattered.
What startled Sprig were her eyes when she turned him. Her eyes, always sparkling with life, were dull. There was no light in her deep blue eyes that made his lips curl involuntarily and made him want to put his arms around her, pulling her to himself. He couldn't feel any emotion in those eyes that always radiated happiness and hope.
Just pointless expression. And eyebags.
"Hey..."
There was no sound. Ivy put down the threads she was carrying and began sorting them by color. In the middle of the town center. Considering the number of houses that were damaged, it wasn't so strange. They would all go to Maddie for emergencies and stitches after all.
But that wasn't what worried Sprig.
"Need help?"
When he put his hand on her shoulder, she tried to pull herself back. She was shaking violently. And...
Her knees gave out.
"Ivy!"
Athletic arms found her waist, she was forcing her blurry gaze to focus. Green eyes. Worried.
"S-sprig?"
"I've got you. You okay?"
"I'm..."
When she gathered her wits, she realized the situation. She shook her head from side to side and tried to back away.
"Y-yeah." She cleared her throat. "Yeah! I'm cool. I think I'm low on sugar. I'll get a potion from Mad–"
"Ivy."
How could his green eyes look so kindly? How could he see right down to her innermost being? How did her muscles soften with his each touch?
"Please..."
Just– how?
Before Ivy knew it, she found herself sitting at her house with Sprig. Her room was exactly as she had left it yesterday. Her pillows had fallen to the floor, feathers scattered in panic. Her bed was unmade. There were dagger marks on the walls from yesterday's struggle.
Lightning flashed in her eyes.
"You've gotta go out the back passage, Ivy."
"I can help!"
"You need to get the triplets out of here. You know I can't hold them off for long."
"No! You can't leave after the house is demolished!"
"I have my own ways. So far, none of them have disappointed me. Now go!"
She bit her lip vigorously. It let you down, Mom. It let you down like it let Dad down. Feeling her cheeks getting wet, she pressed her face to his chest. She wouldn't look like this today. She just wouldn't be, when everyone is looking for a branch to hold on to.
Always smiling. Laughing no matter what. She was the frog who made people feel good in this way, who constantly spread positive energy around. The triplets, Sprig, Polly, Maddie, Liam... After the Great War, they all came to Ivy and confided in her. Because they had to. Because that was Ivy's job. Making people feel good and freeing them from heavy burdens. She thought she could go on like this forever. Even at her own mother's funeral.
But every frog has a limit, right?
She coughed. Her throat was choked with tears. The smell of basil from Sprig, which had always clung to him because he worked in the garden, was so familiar. The arms wrapped protectively around her body were so warm. He patted her back with one hand and stroked her leafy hair with the other. He placed a sweet kiss on the spot he had caressed.
At that moment, she felt a big door open in her heart. It was heavy and struggling to get out. Her eyes stung so badly. She couldn't take it anymore. She had to let go.
That's exactly what Ivy did.
She put her arms around her boyfriend and pressed him tightly. She was relieved as the tears came from her eyes. She was relieved as she sobbed and shrieked. She was relieved as the smell of the basil came to her nose. Sprig held her tightly and whispered in her ear, and her heart felt like it was emptying.
"Don't worry. I'm here. I'll always be here. Breathe. That's it. Inhale and exhale..."
She was almost sitting on his lap now. But she didn't want to care. She didn't want to think about anything at that moment. Maybe the effect of not sleeping last night was starting to kick in, but she was very tired. She couldn't stop shaking.
She drew in a shaky breath as their foreheads met. Her eyes were still closed.
"I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"For not being able to help. For being selfish. For a fault. For being a burden. I wish I could just disap–"
When he pressed his index finger to her lip, she fell silent and opened her eyes. Young frog's lush green eyes shone with tears.
"Don't say that. Please." He took her icy hands and squeezed them. "You're good. You're not a burden. You never have been. You've helped so much since yesterday. But Ivy... what about you?"
"M-me?"
"Yeah. You haven't slept for hours. I'm sure you haven't stopped to eat either."
"I can't stop for myself when there are people who need help."
"But you need help too."
"W-what? I'm not wounded."
"I know. This is a different kind of help."
"But–"
"Let me." His palms went down from her hair to her cheeks. He began to wipe away the tears that were still flowing as if he would never tire of it. "Let me help you."
"I don't want it."
"Why?"
Silence.
"Ivy?"
Still silence.
"Please answer me. I can't just sit and get—"
"Because I don't deserve it, okay!" Her loud but shaky voice rang through the ears and walls of the house. She kept on talking and crying. She's exhausted. But she also couldn't stop.
"What good are you talking about when I can't even protect my family? I can't do anything! I don't want to analyze, talk, eat, drink, think, even breathe. There are people who stopped breathing because of me, and I- Oh Frog, Sprig I can't–"
"Hey, hey, hey! Okay, I know, just breathe... Ivy, can you hear me?"
Yes, she could hear. But at the same time her ears were ringing. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. She grabbed her throat. She needed to breathe. Why couldn't she?
"Calm down. Like we used to do in the bushes when we were little."
Yeah, Ivy remembered that.
When they were little, they used to wait in the bushes between the forest and the town road and try to scare Mrs. Croaker. She always found them. Even though they hid in a different one each time. The first week they were in hiding, Sprig admitted he was scared. When they came to the bush, his face was pale and his lip was trembling. Ivy had looked at him and had smiled slyly.
"1, 2, 3, 4, AMBUSH!"
"Woah, what are you doing?"
"Ambush?"
"Really? Why four?"
"Because we're four?"
"Ugh, you're helpless!"
She laughed. "Relax. It's gonna be okay, I promise."
"It's gonna be okay, I promise."
When those words came again as a whisper, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She can breathe.
She...
"I can't take it." Her voice sounded like a whisper. Shaky. Exhausted. Honest.
"I know." He separated their joined foreheads and held the frog against his chest. She was still trembling very badly. He stroked her hair one strand by one, not caring that it was frizzy. "You need to rest. Especially a satisfying one."
He kissed her forehead and tried to pull back, but Ivy was still holding on to him. Her voice was sleepy now.
"Sprig?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't leave me."
Sprig felt his chest tighten. She had to watch the death of her grandmother, in whom she had found refuge. And now, her mother was no more here. There was no one left. That day, for the first time in his life, Sprig made a solemn vow to himself.
"I never leave you alone. Even a little bit."
The only witness to that vow was their lips that met.