(DISCONTINUED) Refolded

Chapter 3

So fun fact: this has been sitting in my drafts for who knows how long since apparently I wrote it, forgot about it, and only found it again last night when I was writing another scene. So anyways have this (almost entirely unedited) chapter while I try and trudge through the nightmare that is my planning document

Olly climbed up onto the stump, reaching down and pulling Stapler up. He sat cross legged in the center of the stump, sitting in the sun. Stapler rested his lap on Olly’s thigh, eyes closed and tongue hanging out in peace. For a few brief moments, all was at peace, until…..

“HEY! WHO’S THERE?”

Olly startled suddenly, scrambling onto his feet in the direction of the voice. Stapler growled at the voice. Leaves rustled and….

A tree suddenly sprouted eyes, two of the limbs moving like arms.

“YOU CAN’T JUST SIT ON OL’ GRANDSAPPY’S HEAD LIKE THAT!” Another tree sprouted to life.

“YEAH! He’s got TWIGS ol’er than you!” The three trees continued to yell at Olly, though he was too distracted by trying to understand how trees were talking. A rough bout of coughs shook the stump, knocking Olly to his knees. He crawled off of the stump, landing roughly on the ground. The stump, too, suddenly had eyes.

“Ah, girls. Bless your bark.” The stump-Grandsappy, apparently-said in a rough voice. His eyes landed on Olly. “Now, care to explain why you were on my head, young man?”

“Uh-uh-I..Well, I-” Olly stuttered for a bit, and a few trees giggled. Stapler trotted over to Olly, laying down next to him. “During the attack, I ran into the forest, and I just want to get back.” The statement came out with a nervous and fast pace.

“Hmph. Well, that certainly is a pickle.” Grandsappy thought for a moment. “I have a proposal. In order to get my energy back, I need something called the Soul Seed. If you can find that, I’ll let you two through. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Well,” one of the trees said, “if you’re helping Grandsappy, I s’pose we can let you wander ‘round a bit.” With a wave, the fog seemed to clear up with a couple sparkles. The ray of light shining on the clearing intensified. “Run along, now. We’re countin’ on ya.” Olly nodded nervously, backing out of the clearing, Stapler following him.

~|•|~

When Olly walked back through the previous exit onto the path, all of the trees were looking around, cartoonish eyes on their trunks. Some were whispering to each other, seemingly unafraid of hiding their sentience. I guess that’s why this is called the Whispering Woods.

Olly’s eye was caught by a large, shiny orb hanging from a tree’s branches. “Um, excuse me if this sounds rude, but what’s that orb?” he asked.

“Oh, this?” the tree replied. “I dunno. It got tangled up in my branches, but it looks cool, so I don’t really mind.” A beat passed. “....Though it’s getting kind of uncomfortable. Can you get it out?”

“I can try.” Olly grabbed a vine hanging down from the ornament, pulling down on it. Stapler bit down on the back of Olly’s coat, pulling like a game of tug-of-war. After a moment, the orb snapped open, a small seed falling onto the ground. As Olly retrieved the seed, he noticed a strange weight on the back of his jacket where Stapler had bitten down. He reached back and felt a large staple embedded in the fabric. He turned around and sat down, taking off his jacket to untangle the strip of metal. Stapler sat opposite of him, tail wagging. “Somehow I keep forgetting you’re an actual stapler.” Stapler just barked happily.

~|•|~

“Oh ho!” Grandsappy chortled as Olly and Stapler walked back into the clearing. “Have ya got it?”

“I think so.” Olly held out the seed. Grandsappy squinted at the seed.

“Yep, that’s it! Give it here!” Olly gave Grandsappy the seed, who swallowed it. After a moment, nothing had appeared to happen.

“Is it working?”

“It’s doing something! Watch out now!”

Suddenly, flowers sprouted out of the ground, and music came from nowhere.

Doo-a-doo-ah!

Oh~!

Doo-a-doo-ah!

Hey~!

Doo-a-doo-ah!

Hey-yeah~!

Ah~

Ah~

Ah~!

YES!
Feelin’ kinda sappy now!

Sappy, sappy~!

It’s like I’m super HAPPY now!

Happy, happy~!

I’m feelin’ big an’ burly, and it musta surely been you!

Aw, come on, Sappy, sing it like the good ol’ days, oh yeah!

Here I go now~!

Here I go now~!

Here I go now~!

YEEEEAAAAAHH!

Rather anticlimactically, a single, green stem sprouted from Grandsappy’s head. However, soon, a bright light engulfed the area, Olly covering his eyes. When the light died down, a large, cartoonish tree stood where the ashen stump did previously.

“Well, look at that! Sweet Sap Loggins is back in business, baby! I don’t see any need to keep y’all waiting any longer. Shrubs! Make way for my l’il friends here!” At the word, the shrubs bordering the area slid out of the way, revealing a path towards Toad Town. “Go on now, and good luck!”

“Thank you!” Olly said, a smile on his face. He ran through the bushes, Stapler following close behind.

As they got out of the thick woods, they ended up in a small campsite. Tents were pitched around the area, and a swing was positioned next to a tinny speaker playing cheerful music. Olly took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Now, on to town.”