Nightmares and Daydreams

Chapter 30: . . . Goodbye

Wirt's Pov

I felt something nudge me and groaned curling in on myself. "Ugh, Greg, j-just 5 more minutes." The light from the sun warmed my face and Greg wouldn't stop kicking me! I swatted at his foot only for someone completely different to talk. "Boy! What are you doing out here?" I rubbed my eyes then looked up to find the Woodsman looking back down at me. Right, I'm still in the Unknown.

I sat up, still really tired, and pulled Bea's coat over my arms. "Woodsman, wh-what are you doing here?" I asked, trying not to yawn. The ax-wielding man took my hand, helping me up, then paused and narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion. "You seem... different boy." "I have a name you know," I grumbled under my breath. The Woodsman either didn't hear me or just flat out ignored me, his eyes still narrowed in distrust. "Um hello...?"

All of a sudden the Woodsman started dragging me through the woods to who knows where. For all I know, I could be going the completely wrong way! I frowned and pulled away from him, firmly planting my feet in the ground. "Could you please explain what's going on, or at least where you are taking me?" He frowned and eyed me up and down then sighed and in a gruff tone said, "I'm taking you to my home. There's something different about you, I can tell." Well, that's not vague as fuck, I thought but allowed the Woodsman to lead me to his place.

It took a while to get there but when we did I was in for a surprise. First off he didn't even live at the mill, which came as a shock to me. The next surprise came in the form of someone rushing over and throwing their arms around me in a hug. 

"Oh, Wirt. It is wonderful to see you!" I looked down and realized it was just Lorna, though I was a little shocked that she would be here instead of with Auntie Whispers. "Um hey, Lorna. Long time no see." She let go of me and smiled and I sheepishly smiled down at her. God this is going to be so awkward. "So, wh-why aren't you with Auntie Whispers?" Lorna chuckled then took my hand and led me inside the house. "Ever since you healed my curse, Auntie has allowed me to travel more freely. I even made friends with Anna."

"Oh um, who's Anna?" I asked while trying to take my hand away from Lorna's. She didn't seem to notice and instead took me to another room inside the Woodsman's house. Inside there was a girl about our age with long brown hair and brown eyes that made me think of a more timid version of Mabel. "Oh, who is this Lorna?" she asked, looking up from her knitting. "This is Wirt. Wirt this is Anna, the Woodsman's daughter." I waved at her and she smiled and waved back.

The woodsman came back inside and motioned for me to sit down, which I did. He looked over at the fire with a solemn expression, then down to the ax in his hand. "You know, ever since I broke free from his hold, I thought he would be gone for good. Even the edelwood trees of this land had disappeared leaving nothing behind." He paused then looked up at me with an expression of both anger and pain. "I thought I would never sense his presence again, but you boy... I can feel it in you."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and instead sighed and nodded my head. "Well makes sense considering once you blew out his lantern, he used me as a new vessel. So yeah, thanks for that," I muttered the last part under my breath, and thankfully the Woodsman didn't catch it (the sass is off the charts!). "Hm, yes. He shared a soul with you. But now he is gone, is he not?" "Well, not exactly." The Woodsman's eyes narrowed and he scowled at me, the grip on his ax tightening. "What do you mean by 'not exactly?" he asked.

I told them about what had happened with Bill and how he had used me to get the Beast powers. They all seemed really surprised but I managed to calm them down by reassuring them that the Beast wasn't going to come back here. "How are you so sure?" Anna asked, setting aside her knitting to listen to my story. I blushed a little and smiled down at the ground before answering her. "Well, a um, a special friend of mine is planning on how to get rid of him for good." Lorna looked down, seeming slightly disappointed. "Is it that Dipper boy from your tale?" "Um yeah, he is," I responded, nervously rubbing the back of my neck.