Raised By Frogs-An Amphibia AU

Chapter 6: Wanted At Last

The past two weeks had gone by relatively fast for the Plantar family, which now included Anne, the strange new creature that had walked into their lives, and into their hearts.

Anne still thought about home, and about Maggie and Domino, but she was also intrigued by her new home, wanting to learn as much as she could about the strange, frog-filled world she now lived in.

She and Sprig- who had now grown legs, shed his tadpole tail and was starting to look like an actual frog-  were thick as thieves, absolutely inseparable from one another. They spent every moment of every day together, playing games, sneaking snacks, swimming in the pond behind the house, pranking Hop Pop, taking care of  Bessie, the Plantar's enormous snail, and using Sprig's slingshot to shoot pebbles and rotten produce at random, unsuspecting frogs from the window of Sprig's room- which Anne now shared with him.

While Hop Pop had been highly suspicious of the weird looking creature at first, his suspicions soon dissipated after the first day or so, seeing how she and Sprig got along and played together. He also considered that, since she was just a bit older than Sprig, and seemed to be a strong little thing, she could possibly help out on the farm- at least as long as no one was around to see her.

As long as no one saw her and started a panic, they'd be fine.

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The issue of Anne not being seen was getting a bit serious.

Anne was very energetic and easily bored, as most children her age were, and being confined to the house was wearing her out. She needed to go out more, do more things, see more things, otherwise she'd go absolutely insane. The girl was already getting stir crazy from doing the same things for two weeks straight.

However, Hop Pop still didn't feel safe letting her out into the public eye.

He feared how the other frogs would react, wondering if any of them would try and hurt her or even hurt him for housing her.

He'd also gotten incredibly panicked after a troop of soldiers from Newtopia had come to Wartwood, inquiring about a strange box and whether or not anyone had seen any strange creatures.

Hop Pop had been very, VERY close to having a panic attack upon hearing the soldier's inquiries, but somehow he'd managed to keep it together and act as if he'd seen nothing while the soldiers had been in Wartwood.

After they'd left, he'd immediately asked Anne if anyone else had seen her when she'd arrived in Amphibia. She'd said no, and while Hop Pop believed her, he still felt incredibly nervous having her at the house, and was far more paranoid about anyone seeing her, making sure that he kept the doors locked while she was in the house, making sure that she was always within his sight and was asleep before he went to sleep, and making sure that when she and Sprig out swimming or helping out with Bessie that no one else was around to see them. 

Hop Pop knew he couldn't keep her hidden forever, and all the paranoia and secrecy wasn't good for him or the two kids, but the fear of something terrible happening because he'd let Anne out into the open outweighed his desire to see Anne finally get to go out and play and be free.

But for how long could he keep hiding her?

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Hop Pop looked down at his lukewarm mug of tea, sighing, distress and frustration evident in his eyes.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep doing this.

He was constantly stressed and on edge, always worried that somehow someone would see Anne and all hell would break loose.

It wasn't doing him any good to be so jumpy and tense all the time, he knew that, but he found it impossible for him to let his guard down when Anne and Sprig were constantly hopping around the house or splashing about in the pond behind the house.