Tales of Hunter, Polly, and Others

A Hunter in the Twilite Wood

It was a regular autumn day. The sun was shining on the chilled dirt, the leaves were just beginning to crisp and fall from the trees. Hunter and Polly were at home, having a quarrel.
"Hunter you dumb Baki brain! This is the last straw!" Polly was chasing Hunter around the house.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" They kept running until Hunter found himself trapped in a dead end. He panicked. He was holding a box of saltine crackers. "Uh..." He shook the box. "...You sure you don't wanna cracker?" He had a goofy grin on his face. As scared as he was, he couldn't help but always laugh at that joke. ...Even if it made Polly mad.
"I'll kill you!" Polly tackled Hunter and pushed him up against the wall. "Gimme that dumb box!" Hunter held out the box as a sort of peace offering. Polly took the box and bopped it on Hunter's head.
"Ow...." Hunter rubbed his head. Their dad walked into the room. "Dad! Polly's hitting me again!" Polly nudged Hunter on his side as a way of saying 'dude what the hell?'.
"Polly, what did we say bout manhandling your brother?" Bob gave Polly a stern look.
"But dad! He.."
"Polly."
She looked at the floor, embarrassed. "Not. To do it..."
"See? You know better."
"But dad! He did it again!"
"That don't matter. You don't hurt nobody." He took the box from Polly. "Not unless they hurt you."
Polly looked up at her dad. "Okay dad. ...I won't."
Hunter smiled, relieved he wasn't in trouble. ...Or at least he was.
"Hunter."
Hunter jumped. "...Yeah?"
"You know Polly don't like that."
"...what?"
"You know what." Bob held up the saltine box. Hunter lowered his head in shame. "Now apologize."
"What!?"
"Apologize." Bob turned to face Polly, who was trying to leave the room. "BOTH of you." The two siblings stood in silence. "...You two don't apologize right now, I'll get mom involved." Hunter and Polly's eyes widened. They glanced at each other, shocked. They knew that their mom would ground them, on top of a two hour lecture. They looked at their dad, hoping he was joking. Bob gave them a face that said 'I'm not joking'. After a few seconds, the two shook hands, mumbling sorry to one another.
"Dat's better. I was worried for a sec there."
Polly raised an eyebrow. "Worried? About us? What are you talking about!? You said we were the greatest kids in the world!"
Bob let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, but I can't really have somebody help me out if they're grounded."
Hunter looked away, ashamed by the earlier events. Polly however, was jumping up and down, eager to hear more. "Help? What kinda help? Can I help?!" Polly grinned from ear to ear.
Bob reached in his pockets, and pulled out a piece of notebook paper. "I gotta bunch of orders from round town." The paper contained a list of orders from the villagers. It included a shed, new tables and chairs, some fences, as well as an entire house. "I'm gonna need twilightwood for all this."
Hunter looked at his dad, slightly confused. "Twilightwood? Where do you find that?"
Bob smiled. "Twilightwood is in the Twilite Wood!"
Polly was also confused. "Sounds... redundant, but why not use the trees outside?"
"Trust me. Ya can't just go cutting down all the trees round here. Twilight Trees are WAY taller than those ones. Besides, it's strong and is pretty to look at! ...Nice word by the way!"
Polly smiled and curtsied. "Thanks! I try."
Bob folded up the paper and put it back in his pocket. "Y'know, those trees grow so high that they scratch the stars!"
Hunter's eyes filled with wonder. "Woah... That's cool!"
Polly however, wasn't as impressed. "Yeah, that's kinda cool. It would be cooler if it was real though."
"Oh but it is real. May not sound it, but it is!" their dad smiled.
"How big are they to reach space like that?" Hunter asked.
"Oh VERY big. A bit too big if ya ask me. Can't just chop one down and carry it back on my own." Bob looked at his son with a grin on his face. "Hunter, mind taking on this task with me?"
Hunter looked around him, in disbelief. His dad never really asked him for this kind of assistance before. "Me?"
"Yeah you! Cmon, I think you'd like it."
Hunter smiled. "Uh.. alright!" He said with watery eyes.
Polly shook her head, not believing her eyes. The father and son began to leave when Polly interrupted their departure. "Wait!! What about me!? Can't I come?" Hunter looked up at his dad with a look that said 'Well can she?'.
"..." Bob frowned. "Sorry... no."
Polly grew angry "Hey! Why not!? I can be just as helpful as you two Baki breaths!"
"'Course you are sweetheart! ...But you can't come. You're too young."
"That's the dumbest rule I ever heard! Ever!"
Bob sighed. "A rule is a rule. ...But hey, I promise to take ya when you're older. Kay?"
"Fiiiiiiine..." Polly crossed her arms, upset.
"Mom'll be here to take care of ya while we're gone. ...Be good okay?"
"Hmph..." The two finally walked out the front door. Not long after, Hunter stuck his head through the doorway.
"Polly! You're the new rapo of the house! Take care of mom for us! Byyyye!!" Polly smiled as Hunter finally left the building.