here we are

8

a/n; shout out yet again to @kinggizzard for helping me remember chester!! you get a buddy now! i listened to the song and thought of the reader ignoring maxwell, so i guess it's relevant. if you find the foreshadowing i'll nut

//

You awoke to the sound of... Snuffling? Like a dog sniffing around when it's searching for something thoroughly. Slowly, as to not frighten the animal (or get yourself killed by initiating its fight instinct) you looked over to see a small... Chest. On four legs. With a mouth, and horns. Covered in fur. Digging through Wilson's scattered pack.

Uh... Okay. Admittedly not the WEIRDEST thing that's happened to me so far, but a close second.

Instead of sitting up, you called out to the... Creature. "Hey, hey there buddy."

The walking foot stool or whatever perked up and looked at you. A moment of silence passed, then with the boundless energy of a puppy, the creature frolicked over and nuzzled all over you excitedly.

"Hehe-Hey there! Wow..." You chuckled unsurely, sitting up this time and petting the dog-chest-thing on the head. "You're sweet, aren't ya? What brings you out here?"

It made a strange barking noise and grabbed the walking stick you'd picked up yesterday. Now that you've mentioned it, you noticed the stick did look pretty strange when you found it. You realized now that the strangely bulbous head was an eye, and it was wide open, staring at you.

"Is this... Your stick?" You asked, the little creature wiggling around with further intensity, almost as though he were saying "yes! yes! my stick, my stick!". Then, he grabbed it from your hand and threw it up into the air, causing it to fall and land in his opened maw, which was surprisingly dry on the inside, considering the amount of drool dribbling from his tongue.

"Oh! Cool! So you're like a summonable companion or whatever, like in DnD." You pointed out, taking the stick as the creature brought it back to you. "Well, awesome. I could use some company out here. And... Someone to carry my things since you offered it."

You decided to name the creature Chester, 'cause - ya know, he's a walking chest? Anyways...

Chester gladly allowed you to put a few of your things in his body - which was weird, but the little creature didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. He followed you across the field and towards the treeline, where you pushed through the foliage in search of a landmark.

"I lost my companion out here a while back, somehow the scenery changed and I got lost. I'm hoping Wilson - uh, that's - that's my companion... Didn't disappear." You explained to Chester, who didn't understand or care, but was happily trotting by your side, the things you'd put in his body rattling slightly.

Great... I'm talking to a walking chest. Here's my first sign of psychosis. You though humorlessly. Although you were pretty sure your first sign was seeing Chester himself... It could just be the way the crazy land is. You were almost eaten by a giant spider and there were cow/buffalo hybrids roaming around, you wouldn't be surprised if there were shadow monsters too.

"I just hope I'll find a landmark soon... With as much sight seeing I was doing on my way to the hunting grounds, it's a surprise I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings." You mused, Chester letting out a weird huffing noise. "I know, I'm a scatterbrain."

"Wuff." Chester huffed again, pawing at something in the ground.

You realized that the walking chest was not making a response to your rambling, but instead trying to catch your attention. You stopped and turned at the digging creature, brows furrowed in confusion. Whatever Chester had been digging up became unearthed, flashes of white cloth smudged with dirt becoming visible. You squatted and grabbed the tiny piece cloth out of the ground, turning it over until you saw the "W" embellished into the fabric with silver thread.

"Oh!" You gasped, the memory of Wilson tearing bits of his handkerchief and leaving a trail of it from your camp to the hunting grounds flashed through your mind. He'd left it like a trail of breadcrumbs so you could find your way back! "Oh Mr. Higgsbury, you really are a genius."

You held the fabric up to Chester's opened chest and allowed him to sniff it. "Here, Chester. Look for more of these, yeah?"

Chester gave a chuff, as though he were confirming your command, and scampered off obediently, chest rattling. Your hope rose, and for a moment, you assumed finding your way back to camp would be as simple as following Wilson's trail. Close, but no cigar. Chester led you in erratic directions. The second piece of cloth was thirty feet away, the next a mile, the next a half mile, and that's when you realized you weren't going to find camp like that.

"Dammit..." You swore, muttering more to yourself than your companion, who wasn't even listening and was instead digging around in the bushes nearby. "The landscape change must've scrambled the trail..."

"Having troubles?"

"Fuck off Maxwell."

You heard the old man guffaw behind you. "My, the language in your vocabulary, girlie! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Look, I'm trying to think. Go bother some other hapless fool." You spoke dismissively, still staring at the ground in thought.

"Oh, but you're so much more fun to converse with than Wilson. All that man ever does is ramble on about science this and science that... It gets old after a time."

Your head perked up when you realized Maxwell could go anywhere he wanted at anytime in a matter of seconds, and had probably seen Wilson several times before now. "Hey, how is Wilson doing?"

Maxwell noticed the look in your eyes and smirk. "Oh, the usual. Working on some contraption. He seems to have forgotten about you."

You narrowed your eyes at him. "Right... And I'm enjoying myself right now."

"Ouch, you wound me." Maxwell faux pouted, placing a hand over his "injured" chest. "Well, I won't bore you with the details, but I will tell you he's a lot more stressed than usual."

"Great..." You sighed, beginning to walk away. "Better keep moving then."

"Good luck!" Maxwell chuckled. "This place works in mysterious ways, Ms. (L/N), it could change in the blink of an eye, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking." You bit out sarcastically, rolling your eyes. You pinched your lower lip beneath your teeth and gave a shrill whistle. "Chester! C'mon!"

The walking chest barked and burst out of the bush he was sniffing in, coming over to trot by your side. You could hear Maxwell chuckle like the weird old man he was, until the sound of wind met your ears, and when you turned around, he was gone.

"Good riddance." You scowled. "I would rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than listen to that man jabber on and on."

You looked down at Chester, the little creature panting happily like a dog as he lumbered along by your side. A thought then crossed your mind... If Chester could locate more of Wilson's handkerchief by smelling one piece... Could he find Wilson himself if I...? You stopped and reached into Wilson's pack, producing his waistcoat from inside. You knelt down next to the walking chest and presented the article of clothing, allowing him to sniff it carefully.

"Take a good whiff, buddy." You spot softly, patting the top of his furry head. The creature looked up at you and stuck out his tongue, panting happily. "Got it? Seek!"

On command, Chester scampered off into the woods, causing you to speed walk after him. Please let this work, please! You prayed to whatever god was listening.