Chapter Text
Chucklehuck Woods was quiet and serene, a beautiful sight when mixed with the setting sun. Or at least, it was.
Toaby ran down the path, tears stinging her eyes and her lungs burning. He… He couldn’t stop now. She could feel it, right behind—
There was an odd moment of peace when he tripped on a tree root, before he came crashing towards the ground again. The paper bag of groceries she had was knocked out of her hands, a few apples and beans tumbling free. Before he could even move, he felt a shiver go down his spine. It was right behind her.
He slowly turned to look, gulping audibly. It towered over her, making her feel shorter than usual. Its eyes narrowed, scrutinizing every little detail about him, before a smile spread across its face, its pointed teeth glimmering in the fading sunlight.
Toaby tried to inch away, but gasped as a searing pain shot up her arm, which was soon replaced by an odd… warmth. He slowly looked down at his arm, grimacing. She was bleeding. A lot. That couldn’t be good.
Slowly, he turned his gaze back to the towering figure.
”P-Please don’t… hurt me.”
She pleaded, only to be met with a sinister chuckle from the figure. It reached out, wrapping its arm around Toaby’s, causing him to gasp again. It leaned in closer as it lifted Toaby off of the ground by the arm, inspecting her wounds.
”T-Trust me, I’m not even that tasty! You- You’d be better off eating one of those Beanish people!”
He peeped. The figure didn’t drop her, and instead smiled wider, its breathing picking up.
At first, Toaby assumed this would be the end. But after a couple minutes of nothing, he tilted his head slightly.
”H..Hello?”
The figure was just… staring, breathing heavily, its eyelids dropping.
Wait. Drooping?
Before she knew it, the figure had released its grasp, dropping her to the forest floor as it collapsed, assumedly due to exhaustion. Now that he could see it, it looked… ragged. Roughed up. As if it had been living out here for a while, surviving on nothing but wild foods and… other unfortunate passerby. Maybe it was just scared? Either way, she couldn’t just leave it out here, unconscious…
————
Cackletta grumbled, her eyes opening groggily as she came to. Her hands gripped the mattress underneath her. It was soft, but not as soft as the ones she slept on. She… wasn’t in her home.
She sat bolt upright, before being hit with rampant body pain. It was no wonder she felt like shit, she’d been living in the woods for the past month, hiding from authorities and whoever else might see her.
The last thing she’d done before passing out was finding a Toad, but the rest after that was blurry. After a few moments, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the open bedroom door.
That Toad from earlier stood there, letting out a nervous giggle.
”I.. uh. Didn’t think you’d be awake yet.”
They mumbled, before tottering over to the bed, holding out a bowl.
”Made you some soup if you’d like some…”
She grunted and took the bowl, sniffing at it. Pea soup. Though, she… wasn’t hungry at that moment. For regular food, at least. She could feel herself running low on energy. If she didn’t get some soon, she’d pass out again and wouldn’t be able to retain this form.
The Toad blinked as she handed them back the bowl.
”I take it you.. don’t like it?”
They laughed sheepishly, the tension in the air being so thick it could be cut with a knife.
She grumbled again, looking away and out the window. She didn’t have the time for this. She could feel her energy draining every second she stayed awake.
The Toad sighed softly.
”Is there anything else I can get you? Do you just… not like soup? Can you even sp—”
”…quiet.”
She hissed, causing the Toad to shut their mouth and nod sharply. Her voice was… much more gravely than she’d liked. But admittedly, it had been a while since she’d even spoken.
“I-I guess I’ll… leave you be, then. Let you rest?”
The Toad mumbled, stepping away, but not before leaving the bowl of soup on the nightstand.
”I’ll just… leave this here for now. Just in case.”
They shot her a sheepish smile, before quickly scuttling away. She couldn’t help but notice the bandage wrapped around their arm. Was that… her doing? She couldn’t quite remember. She laid back on the bed, groaning as her bones ached. She was getting too old for this, anyways.
————
At nearly ten that night, her eyes snapped open.
She turned her head, her gaze landing on the bowl from earlier. Sure, it was cold by now, and it wasn’t particularly her favourite food… but it was better than nothing. And if nothing meant losing this form and reverting back to being nothing more than a wisp of smoke, searching for a host, she’d rather eat something.
Slowly, she sat up, learning from her past mistake of sitting up far too fast, and picked up the bowl in both hands. She began to drink it like a broth, cherishing the fact that there was at least some seasoning, rather than none.
Little did she know, in the doorway, the Toad had peeked into the room to check out all the noise. Their face felt a bit warmer than usual, seeing as she’d actually ate the soup. It… felt nice knowing that their cooking was actually good enough for her.