Hidden Creatures

Kermit (Ohio Frogman x Gender Neutral Reader)

Moving to Ohio hadn't been your idea, but when your sister gets out of a bad relationship and calls you for help, what are you gonna do? She couldn't just up and come to you, either, since both of her kids were still in school and it was the middle spring semester, so the only thing you could do was go to her.

She lived in a small town outside of Cincinnati, nevermind where exactly, but it was charming enough. Though, strangely, several of the people in town had told you to stay away from the bridges when you arrived. When you asked why, they simply smiled and moved on.

Well, it wasn't going to stop you from taking your runs; they were the only thing that kept you sane. You could only listen to your sister complain about her ex so many times before you needed to get out of the house.

There was a running track near the Little Miami River that looked promising, though you noticed it had very little foot traffic. Not that that bothered you in the slightest.

It was still early morning when you took your first run since moving here. The sun was just under the horizon, the air was nice and crisp, there wasn't too much condensation making the trail slick, and the best songs were playing on your phone's random queue. It was the perfect morning.

There it was, in the distance: a bridge. A bridge next to the water, no less. The very thing everyone was warning you about. You couldn't see what the big deal was. Small town people were just way too superstitious.

The sun was rising, and you stopped for a moment to appreciate the way the light reflected on the water. It was then she saw the glow of eyes in the water about twenty feet away.

Couldn't be a gator, could it? They were common where you lived, but did they live this far north? You weren't sure, but you weren't willing to stick around to find out.

As you turned to continue your run, you tripped on the only rock in the road and hit the ground hard, your phone skittering out of your pocket and across the pavement, ripping the headphones out of your ears. You heard a splash, as if something had jumped from the water, and you turned to find a creature standing over you, looming in the low light.

It was green and wrinkly, standing only about four feet tall, with a huge head and wide mouth. It's weird eyes bulged from it's head and the pupils had a weird sideways hourglass shape. It had four fingers on both hands and both feet. It was barrel-chested though it's waist was extremely narrow.

Your heart thudded in your chest as you looked up in it. It reached out to you and you remembered you had legs and ran. You heard a whoosh and then a thump. You looked behind you and realize it was jumping after you, it's leap a staggeringly long distance. Damn it! It would catch up to you without breaking a sweat.

You kept running, hearing it leaping faster to catch up. Again, because life was a cruel son of a bitch, you tripped again on seemingly nothing. You turned, and it was upon you, crouched over you, staring at you with its strange eyes.

"Whatever you're going to do, Kermit, just do it," You said, your fear making you facetious. You tended to be snarky when you were scared.

They raised his closed fist and presented it to you, and you flinched, not knowing what to expect. They opened their hand, and your phone lay in their palm.

"You dropped this," They said, their voice surprisingly smooth. You were expecting it to be... well... croaky.

"...oh," You said, reaching carefully for your phone.

"Didn't mean to scare you," They said, backing away.

"No, wait," You said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I've just never seen anything like you before."