Something seems off...

Chapter 1

Rolling hills covered in wheat fields stretched as far the eye could see. In front of them, the winding, dried mud of the road was the only feature that cut through the immaculate gold cereal. Wirt sighed, looking down through sleep-heavy eyes at his brother. He was as exhausted, maybe even more than he was, at having had to trudge through the unforgiving forest all night long.

Yet, as Wirt reflected with a sigh, it had been worth it.

The forest was far too dangerous for them, and even though the heat was unforgiving now that they were out in the open, at least they didn't need to keep their eyes peeled all night long, keeping a look out for the impending threat of wild animals. Once the Beast had been defeated, they seemed to have become more and more present, as if they had been hiding from the larger threat up until then.

Although they might have been minor compared to the Beast, they still were unusually large or strange enough for Wirt to be unsure what he should do to protect his brother and himself from them. Greg, on the other hand, was rarely even fazed by the creatures, even going as far as petting one large, deformed bear on the nose.

"Wirt, do you think it's safe to sleep now? I know it's day and we should be having breakfast, but I'm really tired. Besides, Jason Funderburker agrees with me." The frog croaked dutifully.

Wirt pinched the bridge of his nose, weighing the pros and cons. They were still rather close to the forest, yet he was unsure about letting Greg sleep out in full sunlight. Who knew what that would lead to?

"Fine. Let's go and rest under that tree over there, it looks...safe."

"Hurray for Wirt! I knew you had a master sleeping-plan!" Greg skipped off, his tea kettle clutched in his arms. His brother sighed good-heartedly, following at a more measured pace.

Since they had escaped the Beast, he regarded his not-quite-brother's antics as more amusing than annoying. Even though he was more sleep-deprived than he would have liked, he hadn't snapped at him even once, apart from that incident with the bear. He had really panicked that time, about two days ago...

"Greg! If Jason Funderburker has discovered another crime scene, could you just tell him that..."

Wirt's jaw dropped at the huge beast that was towering above Greg, various slobbering mouths showing dull, old ivory coloured teeth off in an intimidating manner. The young boy was smiling, standing on tiptoes to touch the lowest of the heads' muzzle.

"No, WAIT!"

Rushing forward, his cape billowed, then snagged on a thorny branch. Halted and choked by the pressure of the tag on his throat, he could only observe the scene, powerless, while he struggled with the clip.

Greg jumped a little to reach the jet, moist nose. The bear didn't move, not reacting when the miniature hand patted him. When Greg had had his fill, he turned around and hopped back to the still trapped brother. Wirt let out a strangled cry when he turned his back on the creature, certain that it would use this moment of weakness from his brother to slash at his back or snap his head off or...

"Wirt! Did you meet my new friend, his name is Multi-Bear, and..."

"Greg!"

The younger boy was immediately smothered in a tight hug, nearly unable to breathe as Wirt held him as tight as possible. The cape hung, abandoned on the branch, like a forgotten flag. The Multi-Bear had disappeared back into the woods, its huge bulk merging seamlessly with the tree trunks around it.

"Greg, do you know how worried I was about you just then? You could have gotten hurt, or eaten, or something even worse!"

Greg laughed, irking his brother slightly.

"You sound so much like mom when you say that! It's really funny, and even your face has the same worried look as hers!"

"This is not about what I look like! No matter how ridiculous I may seem, your life was on the line back then, and I don't want you to get hurt, so please don't do something that would make me worried like that again, please Greg..."

Silence ensued as the older brother rocked them both back and forth, still recovering from the shock.

"Is it because you are worried about what mom and dad would say? "

Wirt halted the rocking, before slowly getting up again, carefully letting go of the younger boy.

"No, Greg... I'm worried because I don't want you... I don't want what happened with the Beast to happen all over again. Please."

He turned around to fetch his cape, trying to hold back, but a sob escaped him before he had put enough distance between Greg and himself. A pair of short arms wrapped themselves around his legs, holding him still.

They stayed like that for a while, no words exchanged, while Wirt swiped angrily at his tears. Greg had said so himself, what seemed like an eternity ago. He was the leader, and a leader must be a model of steadfast determination and have nerves of steel. He knew that he was none of these, yet had to make do with what he had. For the both of them.

"Greg would have probably wanted me to include Jason Funderburker as well." He murmured under his breath, glancing at the boy who was already fast asleep.

A pile consisting of a tea kettle and a frog was precariously placed on his stomach, rising and falling as he breathed. As Wirt reached them, he chuckled and placed the tea kettle and frog next to him. He took his cape and hat off, the heat he had been expecting from the day finally making its intentions known.

He rested his aching back against the tree [1]. The shoes were finally taking a toll on his health, and he even contemplating taking them off completely for the next leg of their journey. A dirt road shouldn't have too many sharp stones on it, shouldn't it? Yes, but if they had to escape for some unknown reason into the huge crop-field, it would be easier and safer if he was wearing them. These worrying thoughts in mind, he fell into an exhausted, troubled sleep.

[1] This happened to me as well. Tall people are more likely to have problems with their backs, and two different shoes do not help, trust me.