Old Friends (Wirt x Reader)

Chapter 20

The rest of your walking was very quiet. Only the sounds of the forest could be heard alongside your footsteps. Birds chirped all morning long, confused crickets continued their song, and leaves crunched beneath your step. You really hoped the Woodsman lived exactly east of the Endicott mansion; you hoped you didn't miss him by fifty feet or something.

Your uneasy feeling passed when a house came into view. It resembled those log cabins displayed in woodsy photos. A well sat in front of the house along with a wood chopping block. A patio stood behind a few steps that led to a door.

Wirt hesitated for only a moment before climbing the steps and knocking. A long time of waiting ensued. After what felt like forever, you wondered if anyone was even home. Wirt knocked a few times more and glanced at you.

"Maybe we have the wrong place," he thought aloud.

"That seems very unlikely," you speculated. "Coming across the wrong house in the middle of the woods that just happens to be in the exact direction of another secluded house..."

"You're right," he sighed. "Maybe we got bad directions."

"Maybe," you turned from the door and leaned against the wall. "What do we do in that case?"

He rested the top of his head on the door and mumbled something you couldn't understand. It was certainly possible that you'd gotten bad directions. Although she seemed certain, the woman at the mansion could have been wrong. And if you did have the right directions, who's to say that the Woodsman wasn't out working? Who's to say he would be back soon? What if he moved? Other thoughts crossed your mind, but you shooed them away.

Just as your mind convinced you it was hopeless you heard something from inside. You perked up and looked at Wirt. He had heard it, as well, and was standing still, listening. Footsteps. You could hear footsteps. They weren't very loud, but they were there. Wirt knocked once again. The footsteps halted.

More waiting. You and Wirt didn't dare speak and risk not hearing something important. After waiting a few moments more the door handle rattled. A sense of relief flooded you. Someone was there. The door opened and revealed not the Woodsman but a girl, maybe around your age. She looked at you and Wirt with a confused expression, but for only a moment. She put on a weak smile, inquiry still shining in her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Oh, um," Wirt began stammering, but caught himself. "I'm Wirt, and this is (y/n). We came looking for the Woodsman?"

The questioning look in her eyes disappeared, and only her smile remained. "He set out early this morning, but he said he would be back before nightfall."

"Oh," Wirt's face fell a little. It wasn't yet midday; who knows how long you would be waiting?

"You're welcome to stay here," she offered. "We don't get many visitors."

"Thank you," you smiled.

She opened the door wider, signaling that you could enter. You did so, and Wirt followed.

(Lots of you will ask how I know her name. Check the official comics. #4. Anna is her canon name.)

"I'm Anna, by the way," she said, closing the door.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Anna," you replied.

She seemed kind. She had just let two strangers into her house, after all.

A question must have donned on Wirt. "And the Woodsman is your..."

"Father," she finished.

"Oh." An expression of surprise flooded Wirt's features.

This was the daughter the Woodsman had thought was in the lantern. She wasn't gone, after all. The Beast must have tricked the Woodsman somehow. At least he wasn't alone.

Anna seemed eager for someone to talk to, as she was very quick to kill the silence. She asked questions and answered some. As the three of you talked, all that was left to do was wait for the Woodsman to return.