Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

Adam and Kipo (and Wirt)

Three things happened at once.

The monster in front of Kipo and Wirt struck, but Wirt didn't even notice until there was a sharp pain in his side and he knelt down, clutching his stomach.

"Wirt!" Kipo cried. "Are you-Hey!"

Wirt only felt Kipo's hands on his shoulder for the briefest moment before they were torn away. Wirt whirled around, taking in the sight of the creature, beheaded (when did that happen) before he finally found Kipo. She had stumbled a few feet away from him, with the boy that had previously been on the branch clutching her shirt and shaking her.

"Where are they? Why am I still here?" the boy was shouting. "Where's Beardy? What's going on?!"

Wirt watched as Kipo grabbed the boy's hand, tugging them off her shirt. "I don't-," Kipo was cut off as the boy started shaking her even harder. "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't even know who you are!"

Kipo quickly shoved the boy away from her, trying to get around him to Wirt. But the boy wasn't exactly going to let her do that, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Apparently, Kipo was going to have to deal with this boy first. He was angry enough that this was going to turn to blows soon.

Kipo gave Wirt an apologetic look before turning back to the boy.

"What do you need to know?" Kipo asked quickly. "Wirt is hurt over there, can't you see?"

The boy barely spared a glance. And then another. He hesitated, and then finally seemed to calm down.

"F-Fine," the boy scowled at them. "Come with me. And hurry! We don't want to meet the friends of this thing."

Adam glared down at the beheaded creature before. Kipo gasped. She hadn't seen it yet. The boy rolled his eyes. "Come on!"

Kipo paused for a second, and then knelt down to Wirt. His eyes were squinting and his teeth were clenched. The hand that he was using to hold his side was as white as a sheet of paper. Kipo's side hurt just be looking at it.

"Wirt," Kipo called, and Wirt stopped squinting just enough to see her. Kipo offered her arm, and after staring at it for a minute, confused, Wirt took it, and sucked in a deep breath.

Kipo winced. "Sorry."

"I-I'm fine," Wirt huffed. "I'll probably be alright, it's... not that deep, I think..."

"Come on!" the boy shouted. Kipo and Wirt jumped. Wirt blinked at the boy as they started forward slowly. The boy looked impatient.

"I-Is that-?" Wirt started, but Kipo shook her head.

"I really doubt it," she said, but she raised her hand to her flower anyway. Even though the boy had a flower wrapped around his mouth as well (proving he at least knew about them) he didn't seem like he'd seen Wirt and Kipo before. "It looks like this is the first time he's seen us. But, hey, maybe he did. Who knows, maybe under all... that he's actually really nice and just doen't want us to know. I'm just going to assume that."

Wirt glanced at her. "You... really think so? He really looked like he hated you..."

"He might," Kipo hummed. "I'll ask him about it."

"You'll just ask?!" Wirt's surprised question was so loud, that even the boy leading them turned around. Kipo and Wirt gave him apologetic looks, and the boy turned around again, glaring at them.

"Of course I'll just ask," Kipo said to Wirt. "What else would I do?"

Wirt frowned, but all he did ways shrug.