Drifting in Dreamland With You

Grievances

Anne Boonchuy was a fighter, Sprig knew that well enough, so it's easy to tell she's not herself when she can barely keep herself from scraping her knees against the pavement as she trudged along behind the Planters.

Anne should be leading them, partly because they have no idea where to go besides Anne's quiet instructions she occasionally voiced out, but also because she's home finally. She should be happy, shouldn't she? Sprig shook his head slightly at that thought. Of course not. She just watched Marcy get slaughtered in front of her. Anne's best friend since childhood, gone.

Sprig frowned, but continued onwards. Anne needed her family, and as much as he wants to be a good brother to his older sister, he doesn't completely understand the connection between Anne and Marcy like Anne's parents probably could. He wasn't the right frog for the job, and he had the same itch to take matters into his own hands just to feel like nothing was spiraling out of his control, but he held back, knowing jutting in like that would make things worse.

His parents are gone, that was out of his control, he couldn't do anything about that. Polly is growing up, and soon she might leave to go off on her own, and that would be out of his control… Hop Pop… Oh Hop Pop, what would he do without his Hop Pop? Sprig always went to him for guidance, but how much longer does Sprig have before Hop Pop kneels over and takes his final breath?

And that would be out of his control.

Life and death, the choices of others, he could not determine those things. His death is out of his control. Frog, he did almost died today… What would have happened with his family if that happened?

Sprig looked back at Anne. "How you holding up…?" Sprig asked softly, holding back the stream of questions about the human world that wanted to escape instead of addressing such an important matter.

Anne gave a non-committal shrug, but didn't say anything.

Sprig's frown deepened slightly. "You wanna take the lead with me? We need your guide, dude." He said.

It finally clicked in Anne that Sprig took up her mannerisms and vocabulary. She looked over at the pink frog, raising an eyebrow. "Did… Did you just say dude?" She asked, her voice still raw from crying, but a couple of laughs rippled out her throat.

Sprig smiled at the laughter, even if it was just a small bout of it. "Yeah. You got a problem with that, sis?" He asked jokingly.

Anne breathed out more laughter. "No no, go on dude." She replied. "C'mon little dude, let's… Let's go home…" Anne then said, holding a hand out to her frog brother, who took it into his own with a smile on his face.

"Yeah…" Sprig murmured back.

Soon enough, Sprig was on Anne's shoulders and Polly was nestled into Anne's hair as she carried Hop Pop and navigated the city easily.

Anne finally made it to her house and placed all the Planters down. She looked down at her frog family and smiled. "Welcome to my home." She said. She knocked on the front door and waited. She knew it was gonna be an emotional reunion, it was with Sasha and Marcy.

Marcy… Oh fuck. How would she break the news? Are her parents even still here? How–

"Anne…?" A soft voice called out, breaking Anne out of her thoughts.

Anne looked up, and there stood her mother, almost exactly the same she's been since the last time Anne saw her. "Mom…!" Anne yelled out joyfully, throwing herself onto the older woman, hugging her tightly. "Oh frog, I've missed you…" She murmured out, tears welling in her eyes once again.

"So uh…" Sprig trailed off, feeling all eyes on him. "Uh… Um…" He sputtered out. "Now I've forgotten…" He mumbled, looking at the ground instead.

"Just like Marcy." Mrs. Boonchuy cooed out.

Anne froze in Mrs. Boonchuy's grasp. "M-Marcy…" She gasped out. "Marcy! Oh no… No no no…! Marcy…!" She yelped out.

"Anne!" Sprig jumped into action, taking Anne's hands and looking at the brunette  "Anne, look at me, it wasn't your fault. Andrias was horrible, you couldn't control his actions. You didn't do this." He said.

Anne choked out a sob. "Andrias killed her, Sprig…! He… He stabbed her with no remorse! After everything he said, after everything they did together, he‐!" Anne cut herself off with a sob. "Marcy's gone… And I couldn't do anything to stop it…" She murmured out sadly.

Mrs. Boonchuy looked at the two. "What do you mean? Anne, what happened?" She asked.

Sprig looked up at the older woman and frowned. "Now's not the time. Let her grieve…" He murmured out. He looked back at Anne. "It's okay to cry…" He murmured to his sister.

Anne choked out another sob, pulling Sprig into the hug. Hop Pop and Polly quickly joined in.

"I'd hate to break the moment Anne, but you're home now, and you should probably change." Sprig then pointed out.

Anne couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Yeah…" She murmured. "I need to bathe for hours probably just to get this grime and blood off of me…" She scrunched her nose in disgust. "And have a lot of things checked out, like the arm I broke, and the scars I have, and the fresher wounds…" She listed off. "And the trauma…" She muttered under her breath. "From both Sasha's almost-death to Marcy's actual death…" She added in almost a whisper.

"You learn to cope with loss in time, Anne… That's no easy fix thing, ya know." Hop Pop croaked out.

Anne sniffled. "I just… I wish I could've done more…" She breathed out.

Hop Pop softly pat Anne's back. "I know… I know dear… But it's not your fault…" He consoled softly.

Something finally clicked in Mrs. Boonchuy's head and she gasped. "Wait, they're frogs!?" She yelped out, eyes wide as she stared at the Planters.

"Got a problem with that, lady?" Polly snarked back.

Anne laughed at the bickering, wiping away her tears and sniffling a bit, then going back to laughing. "I've missed you, mom…" She murmured out with a soft smile.