Chapter Text
The canopy created from tall trees shattered the sunlight into bits and pieces. While it may have been only early in the afternoon, the visibility gave the impression of twilight. It was humid – a comfortable, hospitable sultriness – the sort that allowed life to prosper. All sorts of insects crawled across the brush and vegetation; some flew through the air only to be captured by reptiles or trapped by a spider's web. The life of the forest made as much of a commotion as the streets of a city.
Ivy Sundew hummed as she strolled through the grass of the forest floor. Her hands brushed up against some leaves, lightly rolling the coarse texture between her fingers. She eyed the plant and its myriad of leaves. “Nah, none of these,” she said. With a sigh of defeat, she continued walking deeper into the forest and farther away from Wartwood.
It was another day in the life of Ivy Sundew. Earlier that day, she awoke to the thunderous crash of her bedroom door flying open. “Ivy!” her mother yelled. “I have an incredibly important task for you today!” A few exchanged words between them and a few hours later had Ivy ending up deep in the forest. Apparently, Felicia had been awake since the early hours of the morning contemplating new recipes for teas that she wanted to brew. She felt there had been a stagnation for far too long in the tea shop and that something new and innovative needed to be introduced. To bring that to fruition, she sent Ivy off to collect various samples of herbs and roots and fungi to bring back to her.
“This one... yeah!” Ivy reached out a hand and grabbed the leaves of a droopy, bell-shaped plant and put them into a small container. She scribbled some words onto a blank label on the lid and put it it back into her backpack. “Don't think I've ever seen mom use that plant before.” Ivy hummed softly to herself as she continued her walk. Her eyes darted from plant to plant, searching for other specimens that she could bring back home.
A few minutes later she came to a halt in front of a colossal, rotting tree that was partially collapsed and laying length-wise against a boulder. “A perfect place for mushrooms to thrive!” Grinning, she walked up to it and peered into a hole that exposed its trunk.
“Aha!”
She stood on the tips of her toes as she reached in. A moment later she pulled out a handful of bright blue fungi with wide-brimmed tops. “I know mom uses these for her Toadstool Toffee cake, but maybe they'll blend well into a tea too.” She reached into her backpack and pulled out a jar.
“Aaaaah!”
Ivy jumped up, startled from the scream. She quickly turned around and scoured the area around her. She didn't see whatever, or whoever had made the sound. She quickly opened the jar, tossed in the mushrooms and sealed it up again. She put it into her backpack and cautiously took a few steps forward. No other sounds other than the normal ones she'd grew accustomed to over the past few hours came to her ears.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling near a bush. Instinctively, Ivy entered a defensive posture and turned to face the source of the sound. “I'm warning you, if you try to mess with me then it ain't gonna end well for ya!” Her fists tightened as something emerged.
“Oh.”
Ivy dropped her hands down to her side. The tiny brown face of a Burrow Bug peeked out at Ivy, cocking its head slightly before scuttling into a nearby hole. Ivy groaned in frustration and looked around again. “That scream must've come from-”
“Get away!”
Ivy's head snapped towards the direction of the voice. Now she knew where it was coming from. “Sounds like someone might be in trouble,” she said to herself. Ivy sprung into action, running as fast as she could towards the voice. About ten seconds later she came to a clearing and saw what awaited her.
Three Green Mantises stood in front of a tall tree growing on the side of a hill. Its exposed roots made some sort of ditch or depression, and the mantises seemed keen on something within; Ivy could not tell what was capturing their attention. One of them made a clicking sound with its mandibles before sticking its claw into an opening in the roots.
“Leave me alone!” Ivy heard the voice more clearly now. It sounded annoyed, but with an alluded undertone of distress.
Ivy gasped. Someone was trapped under the tree, cornered by the mantises and unable to escape. Ivy's fighting training kicked in, and she immediately searched the area for some sort of weapon. The mantises hadn't noticed her, and she needed every advantage she could get since she was outnumbered. The seconds felt like minutes, but it didn't take long for her to find something she could utilize: a fairly sharp stone roughly the shape of a dagger. Ivy grabbed it and circled around the mantises, staying behind them and out of their line of sight as best as she could. She managed to get about ten feet away from them when she grasped her makeshift weapon tightly and yelled.
“Get out of here, you monsters!” She leaped into the air towards one of the creatures. It turned its head but had no time to do anything else; Ivy's dagger sunk into its side. It let out a screech and began to flail about. One of its claws swung into another of the mantises, causing it to stumble awkwardly. Ivy wasted no time in jumping into the air again, doing a spinning leap as she kicked the third one in its side. She used the force of the recoil to land behind the three of them.
She looked between the three of them. The second one rubbed its claws together and charged forward. Ivy grinned and ran forward, sliding under it and jabbing it with her stone. It made an agitated growl as it fell forward onto its stomach. Ivy prepared to strike again when a bright flash distracted her.
Ivy turned around. One of the other mantises flailed wildly, half of its body aflame. It ran quickly and disappeared deeper into the forest. The other one looked between the roots of the tree and Ivy. She could've sworn she saw a look of nervousness in its eyes just before it too ran off. Finally, the third one stood back up, saw that it was alone and scurried off as well.
“Heh. Looks like they couldn't handle the old Ivy Style! Looks like they're not coming back anytime soon. Anyway, is there someone in there? Did you make that fire? It should be safe to come out now.” Ivy moved a few paces forward, curious as to who it was being accosted by the Green Mantises.
“Yeah, uh, thanks,” a voice said. A figure crawled out from the darkness under the tree. A frog with blue skin and pink hair appeared, wearing a satchel on her shoulder. Without looking up, the frog brushed the dust off of her ebony dress. “Your distraction gave me just enough time to brew that immolation potion.”
“Oh, hey,” Ivy said, putting her hand on her chin. “You're that uh, baker's daughter, aren't you? Margaret, right?”
The other frog sighed, looking at her with the one eye that wasn't covered by her hair. “No, it's Maddie. Maddie Flour. And I believe you're named Ivy.”