7. Chapter 7(1)

Waking up came slowly to Anne for once. Usually Hop Pop would call all of them out of bed to get ready for the day, but for once she wasn’t woken up by his voice. She was warm, there was a pleasant buzz in her brain, and she could feel several forms sleeping around her.

Whu?

She opened a bleary eye to the familiar orange of Hop Pop’s skin. What happened last night? She needed a moment for her brain to come online, but as memories returned she closed her eyes and relaxed again.

Ah yeah, hiber-day had ended so people wondered if the pass was open already. So they’d went to check. And then it started raining, there was an inn, cannibals. But they managed to escape and get home safe, with everyone piling into Hop Pop’s bed for comfort.

…

Wait. Hop Pop’s bed is huge. So why could she feel her toes just peeking out over the edge of the mattress? She wiggled them just to be sure and felt…well, she couldn’t count them exactly, but there were definitely more than two toes on each foot.

Her eyes were open again in a second, head lifting slightly to look down at herself. Yep, she was definitely taller than when she went to sleep. Hop Pop was snuggled up against her chest, head under her chin and his knees lightly poking into her stomach. Further down Sprig had wiggled himself into the crook of her bent legs, and the little puffs of air against her neck let her know where Polly was.

Wait, when did she change? Did her medicine wear off in the middle of the night? With how sporadically she’d been taking it lately, it was hard to predict when it would.

Her musings were interrupted by a grumpy grunt and tiny arms grabbing at her hair.

“Noooo…” Came Polly’s whine as she pulled herself flush against her neck again. “Sleeeeeeep…”

Anne had to hold back a little chuckle at that. The fact that she knew what Polly was like when unexpectedly woken from a good rest helped. So she just laid her head down again and relaxed, pulling her Hop Pop closer against her. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, snuggling closer with a sigh. The movement made Sprig shift as well, never breaking contact with her skin as he did.

‘Well, if they are gonna sleep in, so will I.’ She thought, closing her eyes once again. Honestly, this might be one of the best mornings she’d ever woken up to. Not only because of said sleeping in, but her family was here with her, safe, sound, unafraid, and clearly enjoying her precious body heat. Their own cool skins were a pleasant contrast against the room slowly heating up from the morning sun, and even if she always liked a cuddle, in this form it just seemed to be extra satisfying somehow. Yep, she could definitely stay like that for a few more hours.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Frog frogging damn it!

She could hear her family let out a collective groan in agreement. Instead of getting up though, Hop Pop just returned her hug in earnest, Sprig rolled over to cling to her leg, and Polly practically burrowed into her hair.

Welp, sorry visitors, no Plantars today.

The knocking returned, more rapid and insistent than before.

“HOPEDIAH!”

Said frog shot up just a second before his oldest granddaughter did at the panicked note in Tom’s voice.

“Wuh? What? Wha’s goin’ on?” Hop Pop sputtered out, stumbling face-first out of bed. He quickly got back to his feet though, grabbing his robe and shoving his arms into it as he staggered out the bedroom door. Anne was left to shove Polly, who had somehow hung on as she sat up and dragged the tadpole along, a little more securely to the top of her head. She was planning to tuck her younger brother under her arm and go see what was up, but he just stubbornly kept clinging upside down to her leg.

Welp, that works too.

Anne’s long strides got her to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see her grandfather open the door. Poor Tom looked frazzled, more so than usual.

“Oh thank goodness! For a moment I thought you hadn’t-! I mean with all the rain! So much water! The dam! The MINES! So many-”

“Okay, okay Tom! Settle down.” Hop Pop interrupted, thumb and forefinger resting on his eyes as he tried to get his brain to work faster. “Let’s try that again, calmer and clearer this time.”

The green frog started bouncing on his toes manically, but at least it seemed to help him get his words straight.

“The rains last night caused a lot of sudden melting. The old dam couldn’t hold the sudden deluge anymore. The entire town got flooded! And to make it worse, the water went through those mines that got abandoned. It’s all been poisoned!”

Hop Pop swallowed uncomfortably, and even Polly quickly popped out of her hiding spot to give the frog in the door a wide-eyed look.

“Is…did anyone-?”

“None dead yet,” Tom interrupted the elder. “But a few frogs did get burns. We need a safe place to accommodate them, and your farm is the only habited place I could find that’s been spared so far.”

The unasked request was answered with a firm nod.

“Tell them my door is open. Make sure everyone is comfortable, but I’ll be going inta town to help make sure everyone’s okay.” Sprig let out a yelp as he dropped to the ground but quickly leaped back onto his feet.

“We’ll come too!” He yelled, puffing out his chest.

“As some of the older and more responsible of the children, it’s our job to make sure the younger ones are safe and calm.”

The boy's words were practically ignored though, as Tom’s eyes had settled on the tall creature right next to him. He thrust his finger out to point at her, but no one quite expected the words that came out of his mouth.

“YES! Stay like that! We’re gonna need all the monster strength we can get.”

…

Well, that was a nice change.

They were out the door as soon as Hop Pop had made them repeat the safety rules back to him: Don’t jump over puddles, don’t touch the water, don’t touch stuff that has been in the water, wear the safety gear you’re given, and don’t try to be a hero.

As they got closer to the town, they started to really realize just how lucky they got. Most of the puddles around the house were ordinary rainwater. But it had only been a couple hundred feet before Hop Pop quickly jumped away from a puddle that, at first glance, had seemed normal.

“Watch yer step, kids!” He called back. “This one’s definitely contaminated.”

The two youngest didn’t need to be told twice. They could smell the strong, prickling odor that betrayed the water’s poisonous nature. The eldest though…

Hop Pop said the water was dangerous, and yet Anne wasn’t sensing that skin-tingling overwhelming scent she knew it should have. She carefully leaned as close as she dared, taking a deep breath through her face-bump to try and see if she’d catch it like that. The water did have a kinda distinctive smell to it, an almost soothing one even, but if she wasn’t focusing she might not even have noticed. Darn thing really was almost next to useless.

“Oh believe me, this isn’t as bad as it gets yet. Just, watch where you step.” Tom warned ominously, starting to weave between the puddles. The Plantars followed right behind, trusting the path he walked to be the safest.

When they reached the town, it became clear pretty quickly how bad this was. The swamp under the town had become oversaturated, causing bits of land to either be pushed up or sink. The result was a network of dry land between deeper-than-they-looked holes. The streets were a mess, several homes were partially submerged, and as they looked over the catastrophe they could see several frogs sitting on the roofs or rafting around on anything floating they could safely stay on.

Tom quickly led them to a network of dry spots that seemed to be used as a temporary field hospital.

“Good news everyone!” The green frog announced. “The Plantars got home safe, and their farm is poison-free!” Hop Pop quickly joined him, raising his own voice.

“Okay everyone, yer all more than welcome to set up camp at our place. Feel free to get some blankets from the bottom drawer of the high closet in my study. There's food and fresh water stored in the basement, just make yourself at home while we take care of things here.”

A few excited murmurs went through the crowd as they started packing up. You could easily tell who had been hurt by their slower, shaky movements, and as they approached the packing groups they could see the bandages on several individuals. The kids’ heads snapped up as their Hop Pop let out a gasp and broke off. They followed to see him approach Mrs. Croaker, who was sitting on a stool and getting her leg patched up by Felicia.

Anne had to suppress a shudder at the sight of whatever of her leg was still exposed. Her skin looked raw and red, and way dryer than was healthy even under the thick layer of cream, and the large white blisters made her skin look deformed. Nonetheless, as they came closer, she greeted the Plantars jovially.

“Why hello there! Come to join the party?” Hop Pop didn’t share in her attempt to lighten the mood.

“Oh my frog! Are you alright Sadie!?”

“Eh, I’ll be fine, I was lucky Archie woke me up in time. Doc says it’s one of the worse cases he’s seen today, but he also promised I’ll be walking again in about two weeks. I won't be moving that fast yet, but at least I’ll be able to get places without crutches.”

It was at that moment that Stumpy, wearing his hook prosthetics this time, and Toadstool arrived carrying a stretcher between them.

“Well then, we’ll be helping you get to the Plantar farm.” The mayor said, holding out a hand to the elderly frog “So if you’d please-” His words were cut off by a cane to the head.

“I can manage just fine ya puffed up pancake!”

Despite her words though, she did accept Stumpy’s offered hook to help her move to the stretcher. Considering they knew what the woman usually was capable of, the Plantar children felt somewhat disturbed by the sight.

“So,” Hop Pop narrowed his eyes as the toad in charge rubbed his head. “I take it ye’ll be going with the wounded?” He seemed to be trying to give him a way out, or to change his mind. He didn’t take it.

“Why of course I will. As mayor it is my responsibility to make sure the weakest among us are safe and comfortable. Toadie will stay to help organize the rescue groups.” It was a good point. Too bad everyone knew exactly what kind of man he was; competent when pushed, but avoiding as much responsibility as he could.

Stumpy drew his attention as soon as Mrs. Croaker had settled down comfortably. And just like that the two picked her up and walked off with the rest.

“And THAT,” Hop Pop said, giving each of his grandkids a sharp look, “Is why we’re gonna follow the safety rules! Understood?” He got a few affirmative nods back at that. Tom lightly nudged Hop Pop’s shoulder.

“Hey so, I’ll be going with the wounded to lead them safely to your place. And since Sprig already volunteered we’ll be taking him and Polly with us to help look after the younger frogs.”

“WHAT!?”

“But-! I-! Hrmph!” Sprig cut off his own protests rather quickly. After all, volunteering for something and then not doing it would be very irresponsible. A quick punch from a certain yellow frog his age that popped up out of nowhere seemed to cheer him up a little bit though.

“So, you stuck with babysitting too?” Ivy asked, Lavender Flour in one of her arms while Maddie looked over her shoulder holding her two other younger sisters. If Anne didn’t know her younger brother well enough she wouldn’t have recognized the slightly different shade of pink he was turning. Or maybe her creature eyes were just seeing it a little bit better?

“Uhm, yeah! Gonna miss being part of the action though.” Ivy nodded sagely at that.

“Yeah, too bad really. Maybe we can convince Toadstool to put some of the work on the other kids and let us run between your house and town to lead more victims back there.”

“If you do that and leave without me I will start a coup!” Polly roared, waving an angry arm in the older children’s faces.

“Fair enough. Got any ideas for games we can use to keep these guys busy, Sprig?” Ivy grabbed one of said pink frog’s hands as she started to follow the group. He had no complaint going along, though his face seemed to turn just a tad bit darker at the contact.

“Maybe hop-over? They should be able to do that as long as they got arms, right?” Sprig answered. Anne had promised not to meddle with her little brother’s crush anymore, but that didn’t stop her from thoroughly enjoying watching the two of them spend time together. They were just too darn cute!

“So, I’m guessing the two of you will be staying to help then?” Anne startled at the sound of Toadie’s voice coming from near her feet. Holy frog, he looked even tinier than when she was in her frog form. Hop Pop nodded.

“Yes. I’d just like to stay with Anne for now though. It’s her first time actually doing some of the fieldwork in a crisis and I just want to make sure she’s doing okay before leaving her to it.” It was a reasonable request really, plus Anne was a little touched at the implied promise that he’d let her have some independence if she did well. Toadie did give Anne a rather long stare, but he didn’t say anything until he turned back to his clipboard.

“Alright, then I’m gonna give you both some protective gloves, so you can touch anything that’s been in the water without getting poisoned.” He fished around in a giant bag he was, somehow, carrying around and pulled out a pair of gloves for the older frog. He took a little bit longer before he held out a pair to the tall monster girl.

“They’re made for newts.” Toadie explained. “They’re probably not gonna fit very comfortably, but they’re the only ones even near your size. And better safe than burned.”

Anne reluctantly followed her grandfather in putting them on, making a face of displeasure as she tried to move her fingers. She was forced to tuck her smallest finger against her palm since there weren’t enough fingers on the glove, and even then her hand was so wide and long that the rubber was pinching her hand. Yeah, this was gonna be a very uncomfortable day. 

Toadie nodded though, satisfied that both of them had some minimal protection, at least. “Well then, I’m gonna send you to help Jill and Padington. They should be somewhere behind Grub&Go.”

“Okay, we’ll-AH!” Hop Pop let out a startled cry as he was lifted up and the ground started rushing by underneath his feet.

“Plantars to the rescue!” He heard his granddaughter cry out above him as he protested.

“Anne! No runnin’!”

To her credit, the girl did manage to get them to their assigned partners without slipping into any puddles. Anne eventually found Jill and Padington on a broad strip of land between two large pools of water. As Anne set her Hop Pop down and approached them, she saw they had a rock tied to a rope and were trying to throw it at three frogs floating on a door in one of the pools. When they failed and the rock fell back into the water again, they would reel it in again and dunk the rock into a bucket with fresh water to clean it.

“So, what’s the problem here?” Padington startled at the voice above him, missing another throw. He whirled around, stumbling at the sight of a figure towering over him with predatory eyes locked onto his face. Once he realized who it was though, he relaxed again and grumbled under his breath as he pulled the stone back to shore.

“Oops, sorry about that.”

The pale yellow frog simply sighed. “Don’t worry, haven’t exactly been getting close with these throws yet.” He nodded his head towards the frogs on the make-shift raft, who gave the newcomers a little wave. “Those guys were doing an okay job paddling around with a wooden board, but then they got stuck on a sandbank or something and they can’t get off again.”

Once the rock reached the shore Jill quickly scooped it up in her own gloved hands and dunked it in the bucket, swirling it around a few times before handing it to Paddy again. “So now we’re trying to throw them a line, and they’re trying to catch it, so we can attempt to pull them free and to shore again.” She finished.

Taking it from her, Paddy focused on the frogs on the door again. He took a breath, aimed, and…came up too short, too far to the right. Wha-? Why did he throw it like that? Did he not have enough strength to throw that far? Or…was he having trouble figuring out how far to throw it? Anne tried to envision her own perception like when she was a frog. She even put her hand vertically between her eyes to try and help. Her eyes stayed perfectly focused on their target though, and she could tell exactly where and how far away it was.

The frog next to her grumbled in frustration and quickly started reeling the rope back in.

“Hey, do you mind if I give that a try?” She asked him.

Paddy gave her a quick glance as Jill could reach the rock again. “Maybe practice with some loose rocks a few times? I feel like I’m actually starting to get closer.” He threw, sighing as he missed again.

So she did as he asked, squatting down as she went looking for some rocks that weren’t tainted. She was a bit surprised as an orange handful of rocks was presented to her by Hop Pop as well. He had this look in his eyes. There was this general grandfatherly kindness she knew well from him, but behind that there also shone something else; curiosity, and maybe even some anticipation. He wanted to see if she could throw any better.

She took the offered pebbles and stood, eyes on the make-shift raft. She took the first pebble from the pile, absentmindedly testing out the weight in her hand as she looked at the distance between the shore and the stranded frogs. It wasn’t that far really, and the rock didn’t feel as heavy as it had looked. Maybe that was just the difference in muscle mass when she was like this and when she was a frog. Maybe an underhand throw would be enough?

She gave it a try, pulling her hand back and briskly swinging it forward. The stone went flying in a neat little arch and… Well, it landed a bit further than Padington’s, but it still came up a foot or two short and a little to the left. The three stranded frogs were startled by the sudden splash that had been a bit closer than they had expected, looking at the rippling water where the pebble had disappeared beneath the surface.

Okay, good first try! Anne picked out another one of her stones, lightly bouncing it in her hand again, when she heard Padington speak up next to her.

“Then again, I think you’re considerably closer. And if you keep getting better at that rate, those guys will be safe sooner.” He held up his stone for the taller girl to take.

“Hey!” The four on the shore looked up to see one of the frogs on the door waving his arm to get their attention. “Could you guys give that stone a good rinse? Like, clean it really well? If Anne can throw like that again, then I have an idea, but the stone and the first bit of the rope need to be safe to touch!”

So the team set to cleaning. Jill made sure to scrub the stone as best as she could, while Hop Pop wrung as much water out of the rope as possible. When they were done, he handed the rock to his granddaughter.

She could feel a bit of the stress starting to seep in. She had expectations now, and she might look dumb if she threw worse now than the first time.

Stone in hand, she turned back to the door. This stone was a bit heavier than the ones she’d had, the jagged edges lightly poking into her skin, even through her gloves. She took her time to calm her breathing, taking in the distance once more. And once she felt ready, she threw.

The rock went flying in an arch. It seemed to be going straight, and it looked like it would land on the boards. She could tell that to herself, but she would never be one hundred percent sure though. Because the tongue of the frog with the idea shot out of his mouth, intercepting the stone and pulling it towards him. As soon as he had the rope safely in his hands, cheers broke out both on the shore and the raft.

“Okay you guys!” Jill called out to them. “Now you just tie that to something on your door, and we will pull you over! I’ll come with you to check if you’re okay and take you somewhere safe!”

The frog holding the stone knelt down, tying the rope through a gap between the wooden boards as the three frogs and one monster taking up the rear on the shore took hold of the rope.

“You guys ready there?!” Padington was answered by the castaways sitting down and pressing their clinging pads to the wood, followed by a thumbs up.

“Okay, everybody ready?” Hopediah called. He checked for nods both in front and behind him, before turning back to focus on what he was pulling. Anne looped the end of the rope around one of her hands for good measure.

“Then pull!”

Taking a breath, Anne closed her eyes and put all of her focus in her arm strength. At first she felt a resistance slowly being moved, but then it halted again. She could hear a few ‘wow’s at the sudden stop in front of her too. Darn, did that door just get more stuck than it did before? She gritted her teeth and threw her weight in there too, a frustrated growl starting to rise from her throat.

“Uhm…Anne?” She opened her eyes to see what her Hop Pop needed, and froze.

Because of the angle at which she was pulling, the rope had been pulled up and even out of her frog companions’ reach. At least it would have been, if it wasn’t for the fact that a very awed Hop Pop, Jill, and Paddy were now hanging from it, held up by Anne’s raw strength as they blinked their wide eyes at her.

“Uhm…”

“We’re…not really helping here, are we kiddo?” Hop Pop asked. Anne could only shrug. Okay, maybe Hop Pop had had a point in fearing that she might think of herself as being above frogs? She didn’t exactly feel like they were beneath her, but she’d be lying if she said being this much stronger didn’t give her a little rush. Hop Pop turned to address the others.

“Okay, let’s just let Anne give it a try for now. And if she can’t do it on her own… we’ll, uhh… figure somethin’ out.”

With that they let go of the rope and took a few steps back, Jill and Paddy looking a little giddy and mumbling about her ‘just lifting all of them like that’. At least they seemed to be amazed by that little display more so than frightened by it. Anne welcomed the change.

Determined to give them another show she dug her heels into the sand and started to pull again. The rope went tight once more, but the door wasn’t moving yet. Nonetheless Anne kept at it, leaning back once more. The weight and lack of frogs hanging from the rope seemed to help a bit, as the sand keeping the door in place slightly shifted.

“Yes! I think we’re moving a little bit.” Anne could hear a voice over the water say.

“Go Anne, go!”

“You can do it, girl!” Said girl could feel her chest puff up slightly with pride. She could do this! All she needed was a little bit more. She reshifted her feet, taking a step back so she could dig her feet into sturdier, undisturbed sand and renewed her pulling.

That shock seemed to be all that was needed. The door was finally pulled to the edge of the sandbank! The sand that the front of the door had dug itself into now had room to sink and go under, releasing the front edge rather suddenly.

The rope went slack and, without the force holding her from the front, Anne’s weight started pulling her backwards. She stumbled back and her foot touched something wet.

Oh no.

As her foot sunk in deeper, she still wasn’t feeling any bottom.

Oh no!

Anne was able to let out one last startled scream as she completely submerged into the poisonous waters of the treacherously deep sinkhole.

“ANNE!”

Hop Pop rushed forward, reaching for his oldest grandchild. The only thing keeping him from plunging his hands into the water was the promise of pain and death just about prickling his skin right above the surface. The thought that he had two other kids that relied on him stopped him from hopelessly trying to reach his granddaughter anyway.

“NO! Nononononono, please! Not another! I can’t!”

Hop Pop could feel two pairs of hands grab his shoulders and pull him back as horrified tears started to pool in his eyes. Behind him there were more frightened screams as the now freed frogs grabbed their paddles and did their best to rush over.

“Hopediah! Get back!” Jill practically screamed. He turned his head slightly to see her, tears streaming down his face now.

“Please, I can’t. M-my baby.”

“I-I’m so sorry, Hopediah.” Their yellow companion mumbled back. “There’s nothing we can d-.”

His words were cut off as bubbles started rising to the surface. There was just a moment of relative silence, before an arm burst out of the water and clawed at the sand. It was followed by another and a wide eyed face gasping for air. The frogs hastily moved back as the lanky, sopping wet creature that was Anne Plantar scrambled onto the shore.

She was breathing heavy, coughing the remains of water out of her upper respiratory tract as she settled on her hands and knees. Ack! What the heck? That tasted awful! She spat onto the sand, trying to wipe at her mouth only for the water that was on her arm to enter her mouth instead. She hacked once more, trying to spit it out again.

What even was that? What was she-?

Oh…oh right.

Anne froze, every single muscle in her body tensing in preparation for the pain. Maybe it’ll be like the original pain of transforming, she hoped. She could handle that, right? Oh who was she kidding? That without relief, for days on end? She couldn’t handle that! Plus she had been completely submerged, even if she was out of it now there was no way she would-

Wait, how long had it been? She opened her eyes again, looking down at her arms. They looked…normal. No redness, no shriveling or blistering skin. Just that same soft brown, smooth-but-tough skin she had gotten used to. She wasn’t even feeling anything.

Wait a second. No really, with every second she waited and the pain didn’t come, a realization was starting to worm it’s way into her brain. She was momentarily interrupted as a wet rag was forced against her face and started hastily wiping.

“Hurry! Get that fresh water and wash off as much as you can! Start with the most vital spots, maybe we can still save-!”

“Hop Pop!” The girl cried out in frustration, but took great care to grab her grandpa’s hands by the gloved parts. The old frog halted at his granddaughter’s actions, looking at her with eyes wide in surprise. They both sat there for a moment, silence hanging between them. Anne continued to process what just happened, followed by the realization that had been brewing previously. Things finally clicked, and as she looked her old man in the eyes she could see the same thought starting to sink in.

“Hop Pop…” She repeated, softer this time with a note of disbelief in her voice. He stared back at her, returning the same feeling mixed with relief and some hope creeping in.

“No way.” He croaked softly. Anne’s words felt fake even as they left her mouth.

“I think I’m immune to salt.” Hop Pop’s eyes flickered over her body, inspecting her arms, legs, face, and everything for maybe a delayed reaction. As nothing continued to happen, he met her eyes again, tears starting to bead at the edges of his eyelids and a relieved smile forming.

Before anyone could say anything though, they heard a commotion coming their way. The frogs on the door had made it to dry land and were running over to see if she was okay, roughly around the same time that Felicia with a medical kit and a small army of frogs with buckets came rushing over.

“We heard splashing!” She called out to them as she ran closer. “Is everybody alright? We came as fast as we c- OH MY FROG ARE YOU OKAY?!”

She seemed to turn slightly pale at the sight of Anne, dripping wet and smelling like death. The girl surprised her by letting out a slightly deranged giggle.

“I’m immune to salt when I’m like this! Watch this!”

 And just like that she took off her gloves and shoved one hand back into the water again, drawing startled gasps and even a few screams from the frogs watching. She slowly swirled it around a few times before taking it out again, allowing everyone a good look of her unburnt arm. Hop Pop still didn’t feel completely at ease, though.

“Are you sure you’re completely okay, Anne? I mean, did any of that get into your mouth or-?”

“Oh it definitely did. My throat kinda stings, but it’s not much worse than normal almost-drowning pains. But I can still breathe normally and I don’t feel sick. It tasted awful, though.” She made a face, clicking her tongue in emphasis… and then she did it again, expression changing to one of surprise.

“Wait. Hang on just a second?” She said slowly. Several frogs leaned forward with interest. She lifted the arm she had just stuck into the water and stared at it intently. Hop Pop was starting to have a guess at what she was thinking. A horrible, horrible guess.

“Anne.” She met his eyes. “Don’t…” Sure, his words said ‘no’. But she could see the morbid curiosity in his eyes. It was a suggestion, but he also secretly wanted to know if she actually could. Still holding eye contact, she stuck out her tongue and pressed the tip briefly to the back of her hand. Several exclamations rang out, some of shock and others of disgust, but they quieted down quickly again to hear the girl’s verdict. She sat there silently for a moment, contemplating, before she finally broke the anticipation.

“Ya know it’s actually not that bad in smaller amounts.”

Eyes widened in horror, someone in the back dropped to the floor hard as they lost consciousness. Hop Pop, for his part, reached a trembling hand into his inner pocket to draw out his notepad and pencil, muttering as he wrote.

“Resistant to salt to the point of being able to consume it.” One of the frogs that had been on the door approached cautiously.

“So, wait, that stuff isn’t bothering you at all?” they asked. Anne shook her head.

“Well, maybe the sand is kinda scratchy, but the water itself isn’t giving me any trouble.”

“So, maybe she could walk through the water?”

“She could get to rafts and pull them to the shores.”

“Ha, pull? She just straight up lifted all three of us up while we were trying to pull these guys to shore!”

“Hey, she looks like she can reach the second floors of some of the houses right? Maybe she can just-.”

“All well and good everyone!” Hop Pop suddenly interrupted all the musing. “That’s all very nice. We’ll keep that in mind for just a bit, but right now would somebody please help me get the salt off a her ? I got very scared and I wanna hug my grandbaby!”

Anne blushed a little at her grandpa’s outburst, but she did allow several of the frogs to crowd her and start rinsing her off. She even took one of their sponges to help out a bit. Her skin was easy enough to handle, but it took a bit longer and quite a bit of water before her clothes started to lose their deadliness. Eventually Felicia took off one of her gloves and cautiously wiped it along the back of her shoulder blade as a little test.

“Hmmm, yes, I’m fairly sure she’s safe now.”

“Tha-OOF!” She hadn’t even been able to utter one single word of gratitude before an old orange frog had thrown himself against her torso, hands grabbing onto the shirt on her back and holding on for dear life. He was shaking, and she could feel both slime and even more liquid starting to seep into her clothes.

She wrapped her arms around him too.

“Oh Hop Pop.”

“I…I t-thought I lost you. I-I-I thought-” He couldn’t continue beyond that, choking up and dissolving back into sobs. Anne just held him, instinct telling her to firmly rub her hands along his back. She just let him get his emotions out for a bit before she spoke again.

“I know, but I’m okay, Hop Pop. It ended up fine! And look at it this way, now we all know I’m salt-proof.”

“That still doesn’t mean you’re drowning-proof.” Anne could tell it was just an argument for argument sake, but she didn’t have a retort for that. So she just squeezed him a little tighter. He answered in kind, clinging for just a tiny bit longer, before he slowly let go and stepped back to look at his monster grandchild. There were still tears in his eyes, but at least he looked calmer.

“Okay, I… I think I feel a little better now.” He announced, wiping at the tear tracks.

“Uhm, Hopediah?” Padington cautiously interjected. “I know you’re probably a little bit… unsettled after what happened, but we could really use Anne’s help like this. She could do so much good, help so many people!” He was giving the older frog a hopeful look, but Anne could see he was preparing for an earful. She was even expecting it too. Instead, Hop Pop let his shoulders sag in defeat. He let out a deep sigh.

“Well, I guess she’d just go behind my back again if I said ‘no’. And she might maybe… actually be the safest of us all in this particular situation.” The Wartwood creature blinked her eyes in surprise at his words, staring directly at him as he turned to her.

“BUT, I’m gonna give you some new safety rules to follow and you WILL be followin’ them to the letter, or else I’ll be sendin’ you to do babysittin’ duty with yer brother! Ya understand that, girl!?” For a moment she just blinked at him, until the words sunk in, making her face split into a bare toothed grin that made everyone flinch back a bit.

“YES! O-of course, sure Hop Pop! What do you want me to do?”

“Okay, so first rule still stands: No jumpin’ over puddles. But you can touch and step in the water and all that as long as you: One, watch where you walk and don’t blindly step into the water. Two, don’t take a next step until you can feel the bottom. Three, don’t let a frog tell you to retrieve contaminated personal possessions unless you can fit them in yer pocket. And four, you will not go into moving water unless yer secured to somethin’. Oh, and maybe five, keep yer upper body and hands dry so you don’t accidentally poison someone. Ya got all that?” She nodded.

“No jumping, watch where I step, walk woodcock style, travel light, use a lifeline, and keep my shirt dry, got it!” Hop Pop narrowed his eyes at the way she was re-wording his rules, but he did accept it with a huff. Next, he rounded on Jill and Paddy.

“I’m gonna trust you two to look after her and make sure she isn’t pressured into doing somethin’ dangerous. If I find out you let her break my rules or if somethin’ happens to her,” He lowered his voice as his eyes grew narrow. “I will personally break into your houses and sprinkle salt in your clothing.”

“Yes, Hopediah.”

“Consider it done, Hopediah.” The two answered simultaneously, shuddering. There was no doubt in their minds that this was no empty threat. And with that, the old frog turned to the three they just rescued.

"All right, I'll be going with you guys to look for Toadie and get ya noted down as safe. Afterward, if you stay to help too, mind if I join ya?"

"Sure thing!" The frog that had caught the rock answered, as Hop Pop led them away to where they last met the Mayor's assistant. There might have been a mumble of Anne's name, but by then they were too far away for her to hear what was being said.

Instead, she turned to those of her team who were left.

"So, where do you guys think we should go first?"

Turns out it didn't really matter where they went first, almost anywhere you could find somebody stuck in their house. Anne did exactly as her Hop Pop asked, testing every next step with her toes first if she couldn't see the bottom, only helping carry things if they were light, and not going any deeper than her waist.

Several times, she had heard some alarmed cries as she waded into the salt water, only for their eyes to go even wider as she didn't start twitching or burning. It was kinda amusing, really. And then she would gently take the stunned frogs into her arms and carry them back to shore. Some of them would instinctively freeze up as she held them, others actually seemed to go limp against her warm skin instead. Guess being near her really did cause a ‘petrify or play dead’ reaction on most people even if they knew she wouldn’t harm them.

At this point, Jill and Padington did little more than run back and forth, one bringing people to the meeting point as the other stayed to watch over her, only for the other to run off with the new people she fetched and the first to get back and take over watching. It worked fine. There were some cases where she had to tell people she would get back later, or she tried to push some sort of raft she could find towards them, because the water turned out to be deeper than Hop Pop's limit. Everyone she couldn’t help right away was understanding, at least.

Things got into a pleasant rhythm like that. With how the frogs were looking at her, Anne felt like they were looking at a mix between some ancient monster and a Hero Of Old. It was kinda funny really, considering she wasn't really doing much besides being tall and immune to a deadly mineral. And then Wally came running over, screaming like the pro he was at exactly that.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNEEEEE! Anne Anne Anne Anne! You gotta come right now! Hopediah said you could help! There’s no time to lose!” He didn’t even properly wait for the creature to follow, he just turned around as soon as he saw that she heard him. Anne excused herself to Mrs. Readt and little Teddy as she quickly set them down on the shore with a relieved Mr. Readt and rushed after the turquoise frog.

The fact that Wally was so quick and focused worried her quite a bit. The guy was always moving from place to place, playing his concertina and making up songs whenever he could. Now he was hopping in a straight line, eyes forward and practically silent. She noticed they were going out of town and downhill, to the open fields where the windmills, that the Flours used to mill their wheat whenever their orders came in, were. No one lived there though, it was just an open space where said buildings could catch the most wind, families went out for picnics, and the herds would let their woolly aphids ‘graze’. Actually seeing the fields gave her momentary pause though.

Nearly the entire place was underwater, a wide river of constant water rushing along the bases of the mills. Where did all of that even come from after all these hours? The smell of the salt was even stronger here, and Anne’s face bump was still registering the smell as nice. What the heck?

That was when she noticed the crowd forming at the temporary river’s edge. A small crowd of frogs was standing around, looking over the water and pointing at one of the windmills that seemed to be sagging just a little bit. Even if Wally wasn’t making a beeline for him, she would have been able to pick out her Hop Pop’s bright orange right away, though.

“Hopediah! Hopediah, I found her!” Her escort cried out. As she got closer she realized her grandfather was talking to a dark brown newt in a turtleneck sweater and open half long coat , one hand on his arm as if he was consoling the newcomer. When the two turned to them the frog let out a sigh, lines on his face softening with relief. The newt on the other hand had the complete opposite reaction, letting out an almost comically high-pitched scream as he leaped back.

Anne stopped in her tracks, about to reassure the stranger, but Hop Pop was faster.

“It’s alright mister Sune. This is my granddaughter I was talking about, she’s here to help.”

“Yeah, don’t cha worry about little ol' Anne.” Said ‘little’ girl was a bit surprised by Wally’s addition. “She’s just a friendly creature with monster powers, coming to the rescue!"

Several agreeing comments ran through the crowd. The newt looked around in surprise at the frogs’ calm, though his teary eyes never left her tall form for long. After a moment for him to calm his nerves, Hop Pop beckoned her over again.

“Anne, I’d like for you to meet Monthy Sune. He’s a travelin’ merchant. This year he wanted to get a better understanding of the economy of Frog Valley during the Freeze, so he’s been travelin’ around while he’s stuck behind the pass. He was in Wartwood for a bit near the start of the cold season, but he only just got back yesterday evenin’.” Ah, that would explain why she never saw him, or why he never saw her.

“He, uhm, didn’t come alone though. His two kids, Rayne and Dewey went out last night and got stranded in the windmill over there.” Hop Pop pointed at the slightly crooked one, that Anne could now see had a few cracks running up its walls. Ah, yeah, she could see how this was urgent. 

“Now they can’t get out, and we’re fearin’ it might collapse and-” Hop Pop was cut off as Monthy let out a keening sound that would cut through any soul, dropping to his knees at the very thought. The elderly frog got down with him, keeping an empathetic hand on his back. When his eyes turned back to her, she could see a desperation there that wasn’t entirely his own. He knew the pain of losing his children and he was obviously very moved by this frightened newt. Plus, he himself had been confronted with almost losing a grandchild a mere hour ago. That realization made Anne’s chest ache even more.

“Anne, I know this is a bit more risky than the rest of what you’ve been doin’ today, and I won’t force you if you think the risk is too high. But, do you think you could get over there and get his kids?”

Monthy looked up at this, eyes wide and frightened as he looked at the old frog. “Wait, she…she could do that?"

“Oh absolutely!” He told the newt with a nod of his head. “We found out just today that Anne is built to survive a far higher dosage of salt than any amphibian ever could. We just have to make sure the danger to her is minimal and she’ll get to yer kids in no time.” The newt threw her a nervous glance, but the hope that had started warring with his fear and despair was starting to show.

“And you’re sure she’s…safe? I mean she seems okay now around you adult frogs. But you’re sure that when she smells newt children she won’t just be compelled to, ya know…eat them?” Anne felt a little hurt by the comment. Sure, the newt didn’t know her and knew nothing about what she was, so the fear wasn’t entirely unfounded, but it still stung. She was still trying to get her voice under control to give him some soft reassurance when a freshly arrived Loggle cut in.

“Oh she absolutely wiiiiiiiiiill not. She won’t. I’ve seen her around her siblings before and she’s just gentleness in the flesh. Even if your kids looked appetizing to her in any way she still wouldn’t harm them.” She could have smacked the axolotl then and there for his vocal tic and then kissed him on the head for the kind words.

“If I had to make a list of the top ten safest beasts to have your kids around,” Soggy Joe decided to butt in. “Anne would be in the top 3 by benevolence alone…and that’s not saying a lot for the next two entries.” Several agreeing murmurs rose up from the crowd again. Anne could even pick up some comments about her not eating Sprig when she was obviously hungry after hiber-day. It was a surprise to hear so many supportive voices, but she understood why it was better for them to make Monthy feel better about trusting his kids with the local monster.

This newt might be an outsider, but it wasn’t like the town was just gonna let two kids get killed. This seemed to work as the newt calmed down just a little bit more, though his hands did not stop shaking.

“Anyway, Hopediah, I brought what you asked me.” At this, Loggle held up what looked like a pair of large wooden sandals with nails hammered through to stick out the bottom. “I made sure to get them down as flat as possible so they won’t hurt her feet.”

“And we’re almost done getting this line to the right length.” Came another voice from off to the side, revealing a group of frogs who were busy tying and reinforcing a stupidly long rope.

“Well,” Anne grinned slowly, eyes turning to her Hop Pop. “Looks like you’ve been preparing for my help without my input already, huh?”

“Uuuuhm, well, it’s just, i-it took some time for you to get ta us. And if you got here and agreed, then we should have gotten started as soon as we could. Time is kinda of the essence here. I mean, who knows how long it would take you to get over there, and what the state of the windmill is at that poi-.” The frog seemed to stumble over himself for a moment until Anne cut him off with a hand to the shoulder.

“Hop Pop, I’m pretty sure both of us know I would have agreed to help in a heartbeat.”

He blushed slightly, giving a nervous grin back as his eyes drifted to the side. “Yeah, we do.” He sighed.

“And with that said, give me those abominations posing as shoes.”

Loggle had been right, she barely felt anything from the nail-heads. Anne was busy making sure one sandal was tied so she wouldn’t shift around in it. Hop Pop was helping with her other foot, while two more frogs behind her were helping to tie the rope into some kind of harness. It crossed over her chest with the knot snug at her waist.

“So,” She addressed the larger of the frogs that was testing the knot “Any creepies I gotta watch out for out there?”

She could hear the rustle of his heavy vest as Joe shrugged. “Shouldn’t be. Most water creatures are pretty sensitive to salinity, so anything still in that water has either burrowed deep under the sand, trapped itself in a pocket of freshwater, or died.” He gave a few more firm tugs at the rope before giving her a rough pat on the back.

“That should hold. Good luck out there kid.”

“Same here.” Hop Pop added, giving the other sandal a little wiggle to test if it was secure. It wasn’t perfect, but it was decent enough. And they needed to work as quickly as possible.

“Now just, don’t hurry yerself too much. Make sure you step carefully. And if you feel like you can’t keep yer footin’ you come right back. I know you hate leavin’ someone if you feel you can help, but there’s no shame in-.” She cut him off with another hand to the shoulder.

“I know Hop Pop. But let’s just see about all that first. For all we know it’s gonna turn out nice and easy.” She got to her feet, a little clumsily with the spikes under her feet gripping the soil, only to find her path blocked by a certain brown newt. He trembled under her gaze, but met it nonetheless. Wow, this was the tallest Amphibian Anne had met so far, and still he was an entire head shorter than her. And she wasn’t even fully grown yet!

“Just…if you manage to reach my kids…please bring them back safely.” She nodded at him, giving him a close-lipped smile to prevent herself from unnerving him further.

“I promise I’ll try anything I can to get your kiddos back to you. Don’t worry.” And with that, the newt stepped aside and Anne walked forward into the water.

Dang! This water was even colder than the pools in town! As she kept pushing forward her body even reacted to it by vibrating again, like on hiber-day. Nonetheless, she kept going deeper.

She was grateful for Loggle’s abominations by the time the water reached the edge of her skirt. The streaming water was pulling at her legs, trying to sweep them out from under her. The spikes also had the added advantage that she couldn’t set her feet down on any large rocks. One flat foot on a smooth surface and she just might have slipped!

Plus her slim form actually seemed to work to her advantage here. Frogs were made to easily move in water, but while standing up, their wider bodies caught a lot of water. Sure the water made a valiant effort to tug at her legs, but after the initial shove, it easily found a way past her thin, long legs.

Maybe she was supposed to be a coastal creature of sorts? Not for deeper water, but maybe for the shallows and tidepools, where she could scavenge for crustaceans and shellfish? She still liked pillbug pancakes best in this form, after all.

She started worrying as the water started to reach above her hips. This was already getting a bit higher than Hop Pop had been comfortable with before. As if the frog had read her mind she felt a pull at her waist. She turned to look at the shore.

“Anne!” She could just about hear over the rushing water. “It’s gettin’ too deep! Just… come back here, right now!” She could almost hear the ‘young lady’ he swallowed back, her grandfather already stressed at the knowledge she might very well ignore his request. He was not wrong to be, as she stared back at the windmill. She was already over halfway there. She turned back, the frightened look in Monthy’s eyes pushing her to make her decision.

“I’m almost there Hop Pop! Just, let me go a little bit further! I’ll turn back when the water touches my chest, I promise!”

“Dang it, Anne! If you slip I’m pullin’ you all the way back to shore, no matter where yer at.” Anne felt the rope slack just a little bit, so she took that as her cue to start walking again. The water was up to her ribs when she finally caught a lucky break and her feet touched ground that was just a tiny bit higher. Probably the mound of dirt tightly packed around the mill’s foundations. She couldn’t hear it, but there was a collective sigh of relief on the shore as the frogs and one newt saw her starting to rise just a tiny bit.

Anne placed a hand against the brick walls, both to confirm she had made it and to steady herself. She looked up for a way in. The door was too low in the water, if she got her arms or shoulders wet, she couldn’t have a safe way to hold the kids. So that left the second floor window opening. She bent through her knees and pushed off as hard as she could, arms outstretched. Her jumps might be rather pathetic in this form, but it was enough for her hands to grasp the windowsill. From there, her climbing skills got their chance to shine!

As she managed to get her arm on the wooden surface and heft herself up, she was met by screams. ‘Oh yeah,’ she realized with a flinch. These kids didn’t know her... at all. Her eyes scanned the room to find two small newts trying to hide in the corner. One was a dark almost black girl, looking to be just a bit younger than her. She was looking at the beast in the open window with horror in her eyes, but nonetheless, she was turning her own body between it and the figure in her arms as best as she could. Anne guessed this must be Rayne then.

Hiding their face against their sister’s chest was a tiny chocopede-milk collared ball. That must be Dewey. He was just a tiny little…what did they call newt tadpoles again? Nymphs? The gills he had pressed to the sides of his head were large and widely fanned, betraying his youth. He looked even smaller than Polly!

Anne pulled herself up to the ledge, sitting down with both legs dangling outside. Her spikes would make it impossible to walk on the wooden floor inside, and judging by the creaks under her, she didn’t have the time to take those sandals off and put them on again. She slightly curled in on herself and blinked slower than she needed to. She also made sure to keep as much of her teeth hidden behind her lips as she could while she spoke, keeping her voice soft and in that sweet spot between high and low that the frogs seemed to find the most comfortable.

“Hey there, you guys okay?” The kids scrambled back a bit, obviously started to hear her speak “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not here to hurt you, I’m just here to help.” She focused her eyes a little bit to the side, hoping the lack of direct focus might make them feel less trapped. The little boy slowly peeked out at her and past his sister with teary eyes, but said newt girl didn’t seem as easily convinced.

“You just walked in poisonous water! You have predator eyes and teeth! You’re j-just gonna drag us out and hold us in the water before eating us, aren’t you!?” For a girl so small and frightened she sure had some venom in her voice. It actually made Anne feel like she’d just been sucker-punched in the gut, stunning her. The moment of silence caused the girl’s resolve to start crumbling quickly though.

“Please!” She sobbed. “We just wanna go home, to dad! Please don’t.” Anne was still recovering from that double tap when a far-off yell sounded from behind her.

“Rayne! Dewey! Sweethearts!”

“DAD!” Anne shifted to the side so the kids could look out the window at their father, far away on the shore.

“Right over here, my darlings! Hold on okay?!”

“Papa!” A tiny voice spoke up for the first time, using all of its lung capacity to try and let his father hear him “I’m scared!”

“I know, Dew-Drop! Just, just…just listen to the nice Miss Monster, okay!? Do anything she says and she can get you out of there!” Anne nearly fell off her perch. ‘Nice Miss Monster’? And he was just giving her free reign over the situation? Asking his children to comply with her? Kind of a risky move from his perspective, but she appreciated him making the situation just a tad bit easier for her. The kids would be more likely to trust her if their dad said it was okay to do so. She turned back to talk to them.

“S-see, your dad said it’s okay. Just try to calm down a little bit okay? I don’t want to scare you, but the sooner I can pick you guys up the sooner I can get you guys back to your Papa.” The older girl looked hesitant, but after another glance out the window, she slowly stepped out of the corner, studying the creature in front of her closely.

Little Dewey seemed mildly enthusiastic to get that same chance too, pushing himself slightly up in his sister’s arms to get a better look. That’s when Anne also got a better look at him. Or rather his arm. His angry red, shrivel spotted arm. Anne reached out before she could think any better about it, making the girl quickly stumble back again. She immediately tried to correct her mistake.

“Your arm! That looks painful, are you okay?” Her words made Rayne stop backing up at least. The older of the newt children took a long moment to study her face closely. Whatever she found seemed to make her feel a bit more secure though, as she slowly started moving forward again.

“I-it happened last night, when we were s-surprised by the water. I…I-I-I don’t know what to do!”

“Can I have a look?” She hesitated for a moment more before moving her brother in front of her, where the creature could see him, but just outside of a generous arm’s reach.

The places where the salt had actually touched seemed to be rather small, probably from a splash. But the multitude and long time without treatment had been causing his arm’s condition to go slowly backwards. Dewey hiccuped at her softly.

“It really hurts.” He admitted.

“I-I tried to find something to clean it. B-but t-there was no clean w-water anywhere here, and dad said to never touch a salt burn. I didn’t know what to d-do!” The poor little newt girl blurted out, new tears streaming down her face.

Yeah, she remembered being told the same thing by her own dad. ‘Whenever anything damages your skin, you always put it under clean, cool water first !’ He always used to say. ‘But if you can’t get to water quickly, then you can try to put some saliva on it. In a pinch, it’ll dilute whatever got into your skin and temporarily replace your slime coat, at least.’

Well, right now she was out of options and she had the feeling she might need a tiny extra push to get the kids to come with her. She might have grown out of the sport and given up her hope of ever winning the town title (it looked much better on Polly anyways), but she did know how to spit. The little newts backed up a pace or two as the creature in front of them made a low, almost growling sound, clearing her throat as she worked up a good wad. They relaxed as she simply spat out a small mouthful of clear liquid, keeping it in one cupped hand as she held out her other towards them.

“I was always told as a kid that if you get hurt and don’t have water, you gotta spit on it. I can eat salt, so I’m pretty sure my saliva might help with that. And it will make your skin a bit more hydrated again, at least.”

“Will it hurt?” the nymph squeaked, turning his teary eyes to her’s, looking for a lie. He wasn’t going to like it, but it would be better to be honest with him.

“It might hurt a bit at first because I’m touching it. B-but it’ll get better soon. It’ll hurt a little less once your skin is wet, but you gotta be brave and hang in there just a little bit.” As expected, the baby quickly snatched his arm back. With young kids it was always a little bit harder to make them understand the long-term benefits of a small moment of discomfort. Heck, a lot of adults even had trouble keeping that in mind! To Anne’s surprise though, it was Rayne that pried her brother’s arm away from his body and stuck it out towards her, taking the steps needed to close the distance.

“Dad told us to listen to Miss Monster, right? Just, try to be brave for a little bit Dewey.” The looks she threw Anne held a very stern and resolute ‘do it quickly’ though. So the older girl did exactly that, taking the tiny arm into her fingers and putting on her saliva with the other. It made the boy whimper, pressing his face into his sister’s chest as Anne worked the slime in as quickly as she could.

“It’s okay.” She babbled softly, both for her own sake and that of the little boy’s nerves “You’re such a brave little kid. Everything is gonna be fine. Just be brave for a tiny bit longer.” She didn’t really know if it would do that much good at the stage the limb was in, but as it mixed with some actual mucus farther up the arm it thickened and actually seemed to form a slightly better layer. Once the skin felt considerably more slimy and supple, the girl quickly drew her hands back, wiping them on her skirt.

“There we go, all done.” She announced, “Is it feeling any better?” Dewey seemed to need a moment to recover from that scare, processing the question he had been asked. When he did, he seemed a little stumped. He looked down at his arm, carefully trying to move it. The movement was shaky and stunted, like watching a heavy door on rusted hinges try to move open and closed. When he looked back up at her he seemed to be a bit baffled.

“I-it…hurts a bit less now.” He announced.

“See?” Anne gave him as wide of a smile as she could without showing her teeth “Told you I would make it a bit better. Now come here so I can pick you up. My own skin is probably gonna feel a bit dry, but I won’t hurt you. We gotta get out of here before this mill gives out on us.”

Almost as if on cue, the building around them groaned loudly, shuddering under its own weight. The largest girl reflexively grabbed hold of the windowsill, the other hand reaching out to protect the kids if things started to fall. She was a bit surprised though, as she felt tiny arms grab onto her own and a little ball collide with her chest. Well, she figured a collapsing building would be scarier than a monster that might just be friendly. The building seemed to settle again though. But that didn’t mean they were safe; far from it. Anne turned her eyes to the two kids pressed against her and addressed them.

“Okay kids, we gotta get out of here. Right now!” At this, she quickly scooped the youngest out of her lap, lifting him above her head and practically shoving him into her hair. His sister was considerably bigger than even most of the frogs she had grown up with, reaching just to her waist. She actually needed both her hands to help her clamber up to sit around her neck. High, dry, and close to her sibling. She turned back to look out the window, eyes on the water below.

“Okay Rayne, just pull up your legs as high as you can for a bit. We’re gonna jump down.” The newt squeaked in fear, grabbing hold of the beast’s hair and her brother. Anne placed one hand on the girl’s lower back so she was secured between the hand and her neck. Then she scooted forward and dropped.

Luckily it wasn’t that high. She had tried out drops from much higher while exploring herself, so she knew she’d be able to handle it. She was mostly worried about any water splashing up. When her feet made contact with the ground under the water she was hit by two thoughts. Again her thin frame seemed to come as a blessing. Her long legs and slim waist cut through the water with a light ‘schwoop’, only lightly disturbing it. It didn’t even really splash upward that much.

The first thought that went through her mind though, had been: HOLY FROG IT’S COLD! With a shudder, she quickly started moving forward, even though she wasn’t in the clear just yet. If the mill fell in the wrong direction, some of it might land on them. And even if they had the luck of it not doing that, then the waves it would make might get high enough that, while she would probably be okay, the kids wouldn’t.

In moments she heard a few shouts on the shore and the rope around her waist went tight. They weren’t pulling that hard, but it was guiding her back to the shore in a straight line, and putting some weight into it helped her balance slightly. So with that, she marched on. Both kids were quiet for a bit and she could feel Rayne press close to her for warmth and comfort, while Dewey seemed to busy himself with her hair. She didn’t know what he was doing up there, but it didn’t hurt, so she let him. Kinda felt nice, actually. Then the boy suddenly spoke up.

“Your hair feels weird.” She didn’t know how to feel about that, so she asked.

“How come?”

“It doesn’t feel like newt hair. It’s a bit…not as smooth, but bouncy, almost woolly. I kinda like it.” He nuzzled down into the curls just a little bit further as if to emphasize his words. A tension she didn’t even know had been building slowly slid off her shoulders.

“Oh yeah? My little sister kinda likes it too. She loves sitting up there, said it’s like a soft throne from which she can see everything.” A gasp sounded above her and she felt the nymph crawl forward to try and see her face.

“Monsters can have little sisters!?” He gasped in astonishment. Anne could only just about make out his forehead if she turned her eyes up to the point of hurting, but she giggled at his antics. It was kinda cute. Plus it seemed to be keeping his mind off of their scary situation.

“Sure they can. I have a baby sister AND a little brother. And I also have Hop Pop, my grandpa.”

“What about your mama and papa?” The creature flinched at that, staying silent a little longer than before. Rayne didn’t miss her reaction as she turned to scold her brother.

“Dewey, you shouldn’t be asking so many personal questions! You just offended her.”

“No no no, it’s okay. He didn’t know, and I’m perfectly okay with answering a few questions. As for my…it’s just, uhm…my mom and dad aren’t here anymore. I lost them a few years ago. I might have biological parents too, but I never met them and I don’t know where they are.”

“Oh.” The nymph said, sounding forlorn. Anne was about to comfort him, when he spoke up instead.

“We don’t have a mama either. Only Papa.”

“So wait,” The girl newt suddenly spoke up, encouraged by Anne’s invitation to ask questions “If you’re talking about monster parents you never met, then who raised you?”

“Oh, I was raised by frogs, right here in this town. See that orange frog near your dad on the shore there? That’s my Hop Pop.” Turning her eyes to the shore too, she noticed it wasn’t just said grandfather there anymore. Next to him she could make out a small pink shape, holding up a slightly darker tadpole over his head so she could see better. Someone must have gotten them to come look when she agreed to help.

“Oh hey look! My brother and sister are there too! They’re the pink ones next to him.”

“Hi Miss Monster’s brother and sister!” Dewey cried out enthusiastically, body wobbling from side to side slightly as he waved. Anne could feel one of Rayne’s hands slowly let go of her hair to presumably do the same. Behind them there was suddenly a loud snap and creak, followed by what you might imagine it would sound like if you tore a stone like a piece of paper.

Anne turned her head just in time to see the mill collapse. A part of the wall that had been facing the current finally gave out under the pressure and weakened clay, leaving a gap in the support that allowed the high building to finally crumble down. Luckily, they had been far enough to avoid the falling blades and most of the water displacement from the falling stones was quickly swept downstream. So any waves that reached Anne only lightly lapped at her chest.

Anything that would have stayed standing under normal conditions was quickly destabilized by the running water, causing the level the kids had previously been hiding on to disappear under the waves. Said thought also crossed said newts’ minds, making the girl hug her brother tightly as they watched for a moment longer where the building had stood. Anne placed one hand on each of them for comfort, then finally turned around to continue their journey to the shore.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re away from there and safe with me now. You two have been so brave, I don’t think there are a lot of kids as brave as you two have been up ‘til now.” Polly. Polly was the only one she could think of that would be able to face a situation even worse than this without crying, with Sprig being a close yet sobbing second. And even they had their limits.

“All we gotta do is walk just a little longer. Then you can give your dad a big ol’ hug and rest.”

“Okay.” They answered in unison, voices sounding tired and small from all the emotions of the day. Another moment of silence followed, until Anne decided to try and lighten the mood a little bit.

“Hey, wanna see how I can wiggle my ears and this weird face bump?”

What followed was another round of questions, this time more about herself and what this or that thing on her did. Some she could answer, some not, and some she just shared some speculation or made up something funny for the kids to laugh at.

They all perked up slightly as Anne’s legs started splashing the water at the surface, meaning they were close to shore, and the frogs waiting there started cheering them on.

“You can do it Anne! You’re almost there, the hardest part is over!”

“You got this guuuurl, you’re awesome! SHOW THAT WATER WHO’S BOSS!” Anne grinned at her siblings' encouragement. Even if she had been doing a good job staying strong herself, she had had her fair share of stress and fear and she wanted a hug from her family, dang it! By the time Anne’s toes could get little brushes with air again, Monthy had run to the edge of the water, holding out his hands for his children.

Said little newts didn’t even wait for their mount to properly walk onto the shore before leaping off when they were sure they could make it, straight into their father’s arms. The man was knocked backwards by the force, but he didn’t seem to care. He held his children, crying on the floor along with them. He just kept on nuzzling their little heads, talking to them in a breathless, shaky voice.

“Oh my darlings! Don’t you ever scare me like that again! I am not letting you out of my sight ever again! Oh thank Olms.” Anne meanwhile dropped to her knees in the sand, legs giving out now that they were safe. The weird rush in her body that had kept her going was just starting to die down, but at least the crash didn’t seem as bad as with the mantis incident.

She was just listening to the little family, taking satisfaction from their joy and relief, when she was distracted by a weight flying into her neck. It latched itself around her head and sobbed into her ear.

“Oh Anne,” Came Sprig’s voice. “That was amazing, but don’t ever do that again! I mean, I know you will do it anyway if it’s ever needed again, but still don’t ever do that!” She chuckled as she placed a hand onto his back, nuzzling her cheek into his belly in an awkward hug. After a moment, she noticed Hop Pop walking over too, holding a hyperactive Polly that was trying her very best to wiggle out of his grip. He released the tadpole as soon as she could safely jump onto her hair, where she instantly started nestling down.

“Now be careful kids. Anne’s still covered in salt, so make sure you don’t touch her lower body.” He himself didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her shoulders though.

“Speaking of, cleanup time!” Anne was surprised again as a group of frogs with sponges and rags, and a large tub quickly approached her. She was even more so as the first wet sponge touched her skin.

“It’s warm.” She noted dumbly.

“It sure is! After all that we thought you deserve a warm bath. Plus it’s better for your muscles. Now let me get at those feet.” With those words, Hop Pop picked up a rag of his own and started undoing her sandals while Anne looked over to where the kids and their father had been. She saw the young newts were getting a similar treatment as her, soaking in two tubs to give their stressed out mucus glands a break as a couple of frogs looked them over for any wounds.

Dewey’s arm was taken care of soon enough. That’s when Monthy made eye contact with her, lightly shuddered, and then came marching over. The tall girl kind of expected him to yell at her over something with how quickly he was rushing towards her. Instead, he started crying again as he came closer, falling to his knees as he clasped his hands together in front of him.

“Thank you! Thank you, miss Anne! I-I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough! You saved my children, my whole world! I don’t have any idea how I could ever repay you for that! I-” She halted his stream of words with a raised hand.

“Hey, it’s okay dude. ‘S not like I’d have just left your kids out there when I could do something. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I did.”

“But still I’m so incredibly grateful for what you did. You saw for yourself, you could have gotten hurt out there too. I-I’ll always be happy you helped, and it’s not like I’d ever reproach for anything after what you did for me, but…” Oh no. Anne felt some slight panic as the man’s voice started drifting into uncertainty again. Something had gone wrong after all! Was it Dewey’s arm? Did he think she was careless and got him hurt? She had literally put him on her head so he would be the furthest away from the water.

“What exactly did you do to his arm? He said you spat on it to get the salt off and help with the pain, but he says he’s lost all feeling, even though he can still move it.” Okay, she did not expect that. But then…what did she do? Back when Polly put her arm into her mouth, she hadn’t given any indication that something was wrong. Oh no. Was it the stress? Did her species start producing venom or something when under pressure? Polly’s voice came to the rescue.

“Oh, that tingly-kinda-numbing thing her drool does? Don’t worry about it, it goes away in a few minutes.” Anne jerked her head up as if she could directly look at her sister, a mix of relief and some slight anger shooting through her chest.

“WHAT?! My saliva does that and you never told me!? Polly, why would you keep something like that from me? That’s kind of important to know!” Hop Pop joined in with her scolding.

“What were you even thinkin’?! What if it hadn’t gone away back then? What if it was serious?! You coulda been seriously hurt and we wouldn’t have known why!” She felt her sister flinch and withdraw more into her hair.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It didn’t hurt, so I thought it wasn’t that bad. Plus I never completely lost all feeling. I was worried that if I said anything, Anne and Sprig would take me back home and tell you everything, and then we wouldn’t be able to go back in the woods and play like that anymore. Besides, at that moment, it looked like my slime coat was doing more harm to Anne ‘cause of the painful-looking weird motion she was making, so at that time I figured that was a bigger concern!”

“Good point.” Anne had to admit, taking her sister off her head so she could look at her to make her understand “But you're a baby, your safety comes first, Polly. I would never forgive myself if I somehow accidentally hurt you!” The pollywog looked away from her face, clear remorse in her expression.

“I’m sorry.” she said again. Her older sister sighed, calming down at the sight.

“Plus, that’s kind of an important thing to know. Who knows what kind of effect it might have had on that other baby’s arm.” She looked back up at her.

“Oh but I don’t think it’s anything bad. I didn’t feel sick or lost movement or anything. It just made the feeling in my arm a little dull.”

“Well, he said all feeling is lost, both pain and touch, so…” Monthy was wringing his hands nervously.

“Maybe,” Hop Pop weighed in after a little thought “It’s a matter of exposure. I mean, from what I heard, Polly only had brief contact and more of her slime coat got inta Anne’s mouth than saliva on her arm. Meanwhile, the salt had eaten away at Dewey’s coat and Anne had rubbed it in with purpose. It mighta caused a stronger effect.” This seemed to make Monthy grow slightly more nervous again, so Hop Pop went straight into damage control.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Sune. We had no idea Anne could do somethin’ like that, she just acted on what she knew. I’ll take full responsibility if somethin’ goes wrong. If it’s some kinda paralyzin’ venom or something we could get an antidote for that. Someone in town has a pet tarantula that we use for that every now and then, so someone should have the recipe to make some. All we would need is some of Anne's saliva.”

“I-it’s alright Hopediah. Like I said, I’m not blaming your granddaughter for anything. I know she was just trying to help. She saved my kids for heavens’ sake! If she wanted them hurt, she wouldn’t have done that and gone through the lengths she did. M-maybe I'd like some antidote just in case, though.”

Some relief started to calm Anne’s brain once more. Though she couldn’t completely shake her worries for poor little Dewey. One of the frogs lightly tapped her shoulder. A sponge was held up to her face.

“Hey Anne, could you take over on your chest and stuff? I know you’re kinda sensitive in those places.”

Polly hopped back onto her spot as Anne took the offered cleaning supplies and got to work. She started by wringing as much of the contaminated water out of the front of her shirt as she could before starting to try and rinse it.

"By the way, Anne…" Polly started "You have a few little braids on the top of your head now. When did you start doing that?" Said girl was slightly taken aback, trying to remember when she could have gotten those when Monthy spoke up.

"Oh, that's probably Dewey's work. He kinda needs to keep his hands busy when he's stressed and braiding is one of his outlets. You can take them out if you want to."

Anne was about to reply that maybe she'd keep them, just for a little bit, when she noticed the newt's staring. It didn't exactly feel creepy per say, but it did make her shift a little self-consciously nonetheless. He noticed the movement and snapped out of it.

"OH! Sorry, sorry! It's just, I've never actually seen something like you before." Ah yes, that.

"Hey it's alright, dude. I'm kinda used to some stares. As long as you're not being creepy or planning to start a mob it’s fine ‘cause I’m used to it… more or less. Plus I know you newts are a curious bunch, and I look like something straight out of a Blue Moon Shut-In story." That seemed to grab the man's attention, as he nervously licked his snoot.

"A-actually... actually you quite literally do." He admitted. Now it was Anne's turn to startle. Wait WHAT? She did? Had…had he actually heard about something like her before?! She was taking a breath to start a flood of questions when Wally interrupted.

“Hey Sune! You gotta get back over here. Kid says whatever Anne did is wearing off.” Next to him sat Dewey in the bucket, scratching at his bandaged arm as his whimpers grew louder.

“Papaaaa! It huuuurts!”

“Oh no.” Came Monthy’s voice, seeming to have forgotten about Anne completely “Ooooh no.” He started to run off before seeming to remember what he just said and practically tripping over his feet as he turned back.

“Okay, listen, I promise I’ll come and talk to you later. Right now I just need to-” He was cut off by the start of a high pitched cry, and once again he forgot the creature in favor of getting to his son as soon as possible.

“Papa, can you ask Miss Monster to spit on my arm again?” The trio of frogs and said monster could make out the kid asking his father.

“Oh sweetie, I know it hurts. But I don’t know if it’s safe to do that too much. Plus we’d have to take off the bandages the nice frog lady took such care to put on.”

“Uhm, Anne?” Her eyes snapped back to Sprig at his voice, the frog actually flinching back as she caught sight of him. Wow, she hadn’t gotten that kind of reaction from him in a long time.