Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marcy’s heart hammered in her chest, dried tears clinging to her face. She didn’t think she’d ever been this scared in her entire life. 

She peered over her friend’s shoulder as Anne stared at the box in her lap. 

“C’mon, Anne, open it,” Sasha taunted playfully. “Unless you’re too scared?” 

“I-I’m not scared, Sash, but don’t you think it might be wrong to-” 

“It’s not like they’ll miss it,” the blonde rolled her eyes. “It’s a dumb, dusty old box. Open it.” 

Anne hesitated, and for a moment, Marcy was sure her heart was going to short-circuit. But then her bush-haired friend inhaled deeply and reached for the lid of the music box. For a moment, there was nothing. A strange tune filled with off-key notes filled the space between her ears, and then everything slid ever-so-slightly sideways and a bright light exploded around the three girls. Marcy’s vision flashed green, orange, green, orange, purple, pink, but when she tried to close her eyes, the light only got brighter. Finally it turned plainly and blindingly white, and then that faded, too, leaving her sitting alone in a forest with her ears ringing. 

There was dirt under her fingernails as the girl pushed herself to her feet, staring around in awe to get a bearing on her surroundings. The trees were barren, dark, and covered in massive thorns. As a matter of fact, it seemed that they weren’t really trees at all, but massive thorn bushes, tangling vines thicker than a tree trunk that wove all around her. The air tasted warm and dry, and the sky (or what was visible of it through the vines above) was dark and filled with clouds even though it seemed like it hadn’t rained in months due to the almost drought-like state of the landscape. 

“Can’t believe we’re on patrol duty,” she caught a gruff voice mutter just before she heard footsteps tromping across the dry, cracked earth. 

“Yeah, it’s not like there’s anything out here other than herons,” a second voice said, giving an audible shudder. “You only get sent out here if the captain wants you gone.” 

Marcy had to think fast. Hide? Introduce herself? Stay where she was? It sounded like the voices were getting closer, but she couldn’t see anything through the thick tangle of brambles. 

She decided to hide behind a particularly dense bush and watch. If they seemed dangerous, she could run away. If they didn’t, she could go out and say hello. 

She darted into the underbrush just as she could make out their outlines through the forest.

“Did you see that?” 

“See what?” 

“...Nevermind.” 

Marcy let out a small gasp as the two walked past. They had greenish-brown skin, large, bulging eyes, and clawed hands. These weren’t humans - they were giant toads. Giant, sentient, anthropomorphic toads. And they definitely looked dangerous. They had weapons and narrowed eyes and armor marred with battle scars. 

She stayed hidden until they went away. 

As the girl crawled out of the bush, she nicked herself on one of the thorns. 

“Ouch!” 

The footsteps stopped. 

“Tell me you heard that.” 

“Oh, I heard it.” 

Marcy was up and running before she knew what was happening. 

“Hey, get back here!” one of the toads shouted. Something whizzed by Marcy’s ear - an arrow. 

I can’t outrun them, she thought as she nearly tripped over an exposed root, earning herself another scrape, this time on her leg. But I can outthink them. 

Marcy darted behind a tree and grabbed the thorns attached to it, scaling it as quickly as she could. Once she reached a stable branch, she pulled on one of the thorns and it came off easily when she twisted it the right way. She grabbed another, and threw it at the shapes of the toads below. 

The first toad whirled around. “Something just-” 

Then she threw the first thorn as far as she could, which only landed a little ways away. Marcy winced. 

Even with her terrible throw, it hit the ground with a soft thunk and the two toads spun around, panic in their eyes.  

“There’s something over there!” the second yelped. “They’re everywhere! Let’s get out of here!” 

As they ran off, Marcy breathed a sigh of relief. 

That was a close one. She climbed down from the “tree” and landed in an awkward heap on the ground. Looking around again at the foreign landscape, she wondered what she’d gotten herself into. 

“Well,” she mused to herself, “...What now?”

Chapter Text

When Anne opened her eyes, she was laying on some kind of stone. She had one arm hugging that weird music box close to her, and the other splayed out at her side. 

Slowly, the Thai girl pulled herself onto unstable feet and looked around. Shining buildings made of gold and marble and coral stood around her, and the road beneath her feet was made of some kind of stone she’d never seen before. 

“What the..?”

She picked up the music box and tucked it into her backpack, hugging herself as she walked, staring around in awe. 

How did I get here? The girl wondered, squinting at the sunset over the faraway walls of the majestic city. OH MY GOD DID I DIE?! Panic-stricken, she started pacing back and forth. A couple of seconds ago I was with Marcy and Sasha. Did they die, too?? Did I get us killed?? Is this box, like, magic or something?! EVIL MAGIC BOX??

She was so caught up in worrying that she almost missed the giant staircase. With a yelp, the girl stumbled away from the edge just before losing her balance, instead catching herself just in time. That would not have been fun to fall down, she observed, staring at the probably hundreds of steps between her and the bottom. Gripping her backpack straps, the girl slowly began walking down the stairs. 

Well, if I am dead, I’m probably in the good place, she observed, though maybe my punishment is never getting to see Marcy or Sasha again. And if she wasn’t dead, she had to hope they were okay, too. Maybe she was the only one who got sent through? Or maybe they were somewhere else in the strange city? 

Anne’s train of thought abruptly halted as she reached the bottom of the staircase. A robed figure shouted “Hey! Stop right there!” and before the girl knew it she was surrounded by lizard-like creatures with dark blue robes and dangerous-looking seashell spears. 

“Ah!” she yelped, backing away. “Wh-what’s going on?”

“How did you get inside the city, creature?” one of what she assumed were city guards demanded. 

“I-I woke up here, I don’t know what you’re-” 

“For goodness sake, what is going on here?” a female voice with a sophisticated, almost British accent interrupted. Anne blinked as the guards parted for a pale turquoise lizard-lady wearing a pearly pink dress. She stared at Anne, blinking in surprise. 

“We caught this thing wandering the streets, Lady Olivia,” one of the guards bowed her head. “We have no idea how it got in.” 

“Hmm.” 

“I have a name, you know,” Anne offered helpfully. “It’s Anne. Anne Boonchuy.” 

Olivia recoiled. “Perhaps we should take this matter to the king. I’m certain he’ll be very interested in our new… guest.” 

Anne’s stomach dropped. Her relationship with authority figures was, to say the least, sub-par. There wasn’t a chance this interaction would end well. “You really don’t have to-” 

But before she could finish, a seashell spear that felt as sharp as it looked prodded her to start moving. With a yelp of surprise (and a little bit of pain), Anne started walking in the direction Lady Olivia had begun heading. 

“Come on, creature.” 

“Okay, okay! Sheesh, I’m going.” 

For a little while, they walked in silence. As the sun slowly began to set, little lamps filled with what looked like fireflies and glowing coral and bio-glowy mushrooms (oh God, she could already hear Marcy scolding her on whatever they were actually called) began to light up around the city, casting the streets into an eerie, yet almost serene glow of pink, green, blue-

Blue.  

Blue flashed behind her eyes, digging into her brain as swirls of green sent off-tune music notes playing through her head. 

Oh crap, maybe I hit my head. I think I’m brain-damaged.  

“Are you alright?” Anne was startled back into reality by the voice of Lady Olivia. 

“I just… have a bit of a headache, is all.” That was a lie. She didn’t have any sort of headache in the slightest - sure, she felt dizzy and more than a little like throwing up, but her head felt light, and there was no pain. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, Lady Olivia, where am I?” 

Olivia looked a bit startled. “You really don’t know?” Anne shook her head. 

“This is the great city of Newtopia, capital of Amphibia,” the lizard began. No, wait, she said Newtopia, not Lizardtopia. So she was probably a newt. Which was not a lizard, Anne was pretty sure. 

“Well, we’re here.” Olivia pushed open a pair of giant doors as the guard behind Anne motioned for her to move forward. Anne had no idea when they’d come inside, but the coral pillars and stained glass windows and marble-pearl-opal floors told her all she needed to know. They were in the castle, presumably about to meet the king. 

It took less than an instant for Anne’s eyes to find the massive throne that was obviously the centerpiece of the room. And it took even less time for her to notice the gargantuan (wow, Marcy would be so proud of her word usage) king sitting on top of it. If Sasha were here, she would’ve said he was “holy shit-sized.” 

Anne had the strangest feeling that phrase wouldn’t be appropriate in this situation. 

As the huge king stared down at her, Anne got an idea of just how big he was. Bigger than some buildings, she guessed. But not quite Godzilla-sized. He also had a white beard, which meant he was either really old, really wise, or both. 

She settled with murmuring “Now that’s king-sized.” 

“May I present to you His Majesty King Andrias Leviathan, Lord of Amphibia, peacekeeper of a thousand years, and the first of his name,” Olivia bowed respectfully, and the guard behind Anne forced her to do the same. 

There was a beat of silence. 

Then King Andrias leaned forward, grinning cheerfully. “Oh, Olivia! What have you brought me this time? Some kind of… hairless ape?” 

“Her name is Anne Boonchuy,” Olivia replied. “She woke up within the city gates, and was discovered by guards not much later.” 

“Hello,” the girl waved. 

“Oh, a guest! Wonderful!” Andrias clapped his hands together excitedly. “Delighted to meet you, Anne, really, it’s a pleasure.” 

“King Andrias, just once, it would be greatly appreciated if you had respect for proper castle etiquette,” Olivia began as Andrias scooped up Anne and gently (or as gently as someone of his size could) squeezed her in a hug. 

Setting the frazzled girl back down again, he blew a raspberry. “Oh, etiquette smetiquette!” 

Anne was relieved. Andrias was nothing like her principal or her parents. He seemed like a goofy, fun-loving guy. 

“So,” the king interrupted her train of thought, “Do you have any idea of how you ended up in Amphibia? Where are you from? I’m curious.” 

“Oh,” Anne chuckled. “I’m a human being, from Earth.” She paused. “Either that or this is a dream.” This provoked a deep, amused chuckle from the towering monarch.

“Right before I woke up here,” Anne continued, “I was with my friends, Sasha and Marcy. I hope they’re safe.” 

“You were separated?” the king asked. 

“Yeah, when I opened the box I lost them in the flash of light. I… have no idea where they are.” 

The king’s expression seemed to change for a second, some strange mix of anger, confusion, and surprise. It was gone as soon as Anne blinked, so she figured it was a trick of the light. 

“Box?” 

She rubbed her arm. “Er, yeah. It’s this weird music box Sasha and Marcy wanted me to get. Just to mess around with for a bit, and then we were going to go to my birthday party.” As she spoke, she set down her backpack and pulled the thing out - it was gold and green, with depictions of frogs and lilypads on its sides. The top of the lid held three grey gems. 

Andrias reached out for it, then pulled back. “It’s been so long,” she thought she heard him murmur under his breath. 

“What is it? Have you seen it before?” Anne’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe he could help her find her friends and get home! 

“I-” the king stood up. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to do some research. Olivia, escort Anne to the guest bedroom. Oh, and take this.” He pulled a golden credit card from somewhere and handed it to Anne. “The Royal Credit Card! Use it to get anywhere in Newtopia you like. Be careful, though. Many would kill to get their hands on such a thing.” 

“O-oh, of course,” Anne stared at the card, then stuffed it into her backpack. 

“Now, I need the box. I can’t be sure if it is what I think it is unless I have it,” Andrias held out a hand. Anne hesitated. This box was her best bet at finding her friends getting home. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to hand it over already. But at the same time, Andrias seemed so eager to help her, it would be rude to turn away the ruler’s hospitality. 

“Don’t worry,” Andrias promised kindly. “I’ll give it back to you as soon as I’ve confirmed my hunch.” 

“...Alright,” Anne sighed finally, placing the box in his palm. I trust you, her thoughts whispered. 

“Come along, now,” Lady Olivia dismissed the guard and began walking away. “I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.” 

Anne shot one last glance at the king, who had at some point put on a pair of pink glasses and was studying the box intently, then turned to follow the turquoise newt. 

He’ll give it right back as soon as he’s finished. It’s smart to trust him. It’s what Marcy would’ve done if she were here. 

She glanced over at Olivia, remembering the golden credit card. In the meantime, I should be allowed to enjoy this place a little bit.

Chapter Text

Sasha woke up wet, covered in dirt, and with a splitting headache. Her head, in fact, felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer, and pink and blue and purple dots were still dancing around in dizzying patterns behind her eyes. 

“Oww,” the blonde groaned, rubbing her temples. Judging by the soreness in her ribs, she’d been jostled around and then smashed her side into something hard. The girl tried to push herself to her feet but only succeeded in getting into a sitting position before her entire body started to ache with sudden sparks of pain. 

As the notes to a song she’d never heard faded from her mind and her blurry vision cleared, the teenager drew in a breath and took in her dark, damp, …frankly smelly surroundings. 

Sasha could feel cold stone beneath her, and something was dripping on her head from above. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could even make out faintly-glowing mushrooms lining the walls of the cave she’d woken up in. 

Wait. 

CAVE?!

“Eww, ew ew ew ewwwww gross gross gross!” Sasha leaped up, ignoring the yelp of protest from her legs and head at the sudden movement, and dashed out into the open, wiping her hands on her skirt with a series of disgusted noises. A centipede the length of her leg scurried past her, and the girl screamed. 

And stumbled backward. 

And didn’t feel her foot connect with the ground. 

The next thing she knew, Sasha was tumbling down a hill, getting whacked with all sorts of gross, wet, leafy plants and accumulating even more dirt all over her perfectly good shirt. 

Finally, the girl landed at the base of the hill and decided to stay there in the mud for a while until her head stopped spinning and screaming at her. In fact, this whole endeavor was just making her headache worse. 

In other words, Sasha felt like absolute shit. 

After what could’ve been seconds or could’ve been hours for all Sasha knew (and honestly, all she cared), the blonde grabbed a nearby tree and pulled herself to her feet. She remembered the time she went out camping in the woods for a week - the first thing she was supposed to do was find something to drink and eat. 

Probably. 

As if summoned by the thought of water, there was a sudden thunderclap overhead and rain came pouring down in ravenous torrents, bucketfuls of rain, more than Sasha thought was possible. 

She let out a yell again and grabbed a large leaf to use as a makeshift umbrella as she slipped and squelched over the muddy ground (or, in reality, through the muddy ground). As she stared at the treacherous climb back up the hill she’d just rolled down, Sasha’s headache returned in full formidable force. 

There was no way in hell (or… wherever she was) that she was climbing that thing in the pouring rain. 

Instead, the girl made her way in the opposite direction. She had no idea what she’d actually find, but she really didn’t care. 

While she walked, mud up to her knees, she wondered where she was. 

The last thing I remember, Anne was about to open that box…  

She blinked rapidly. There had been a strange song, then a flash of light, then nothing, and then she’d woken up in that cave. With a sigh, the girl continued walking, instead focusing on her surroundings. 

Even through the pouring rain, the bright colors of the forest around her were vibrant enough to make her look away at times. Bright purple, red, and blue flowers gleamed cheerfully out at her from the seemingly infinite shades of green that ranged from almost black to practically neon yellow. There were pale green leaves, forest green leaves, rich green leaves, so many shades of green she was sure it would make her go insane. 

There were also mushrooms. Huge ones, tiny ones, but almost all of them gave off some kind of light. Fierce yellow, friendly pink, wistful blue. 

She kept walking. 

Eventually, the rain stopped, and after abandoning the leaf in favor of giving her aching arms a rest, the only thing left to fill the deafening silence between Sasha’s ears was the sound of her own footsteps. 

Step, squelch. Step, squish. Step, slip, step, siiink. Step, shlurp. Step, shloop. Step, squish. Step, squish. 

Her mindless wandering was interrupted by the sound of a twig snapping.

Mind reeling, the girl grabbed a stick and whirled around. She thought she saw a flash of yellow movement, but it must’ve been a trick of the light because in a flash it was gone. Either that, or she was being hunted. 

I have no idea what’s out here, Sasha realized. There could be… dragons, or some shit, for all I know.  

From there, she watched her back. It was getting light (had she arrived here at night? Or had she been walking for more than a day now? She was so tired she couldn’t tell) when she took a break, collapsing with a sigh into the mud. She was hungry, she knew that much. Hungry and thirsty, despite the fact that her clothes were still sopping wet from the thunderstorm earlier. Did she mention she hated thunderstorms? 

There was another noise. Her eyes darted up, and there was that yellowish blur again. So she was being tracked. By… something. 

A trap. That’s what I need. Maybe if I catch whatever it is, it’ll be edible, the thought was pretty unappetizing, to be honest. But her growling stomach was enough to make Sasha at least consider the option if push came to shove. 

As she stumbled to her feet, her headache spiked once again. Ignoring it, the girl threw together some kind of noose leg-trap where she hoped it wasn’t easy to spot. Now all she needed to do was lure the thing following her out into the open. 

It actually wasn’t too hard. She squinted in the direction she thought it had gone, and then started walking in the opposite direction. Before long, she heard a yelp. 

Rushing back to the place where she’d set the trap, Sasha let out a triumphant battle cry. The thing she’d caught (she hadn’t gotten a good look at it yet, she was too preoccupied with her victory) screamed in terror. Wait. Animals don’t scream in terror (not usually, anyway). 

Blinking rapidly, the girl narrowed her eyes. She’d caught some kind of… frog? Its turquoise hat was miraculously staying on its head despite the fact that it was dangling upside-down, and it glared at her through its fear. The frog thrashed wildly, trying to break itself free. 

“Let me go! I taste terrible!” 

It… she. She can talk, Sasha realized. 

“Stop following me,” she snapped back instead. 

Realization flashed in the yellow frog’s eyes. “I knew you were too smart to be a beast!” 

“A beast?” Sasha tilted her head at the frog girl. “What on Earth are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know what ‘erth’ means,” the frog giggled, “but can you please let me down?” 

“Only if you tell me what you were-” before Sasha could finish, a loud screech sounded from behind her. The girl whirled around, wielding her stick and narrowing her eyes. Trees fell over and the ground shook as whatever was coming got closer. Okay, never mind. Maybe running was a better idea in this specific situation. She spun on her heel and booked it for the opposite direction. 

“Hey!” the frog cried. “Hey, wait, come back! Don’t leave me, please!!” 

The blonde skidded to a stop. On the one hand, get eaten by whatever was coming for them. On the other hand- 

“Please! Please, help me!” 

Fuck it.

Pink flashing in her vision, Sasha cut the yellow frog loose. “Come on!” she yelled, dropping her stick and scooping up the little… slimy… frog girl. 

I’m never going to get the stains out of these clothes, her brain mused as she slid into a large log. A massive, red praying mantis stomped by, screeching loudly. 

For a few moments, no one said anything.

“That was a close one,” the yellow frog sighed loudly, and Sasha rushed to hush her.

The footsteps stopped abruptly.

Suddenly, the entire log was smashed aside, and the mantis screeched. Sasha covered her ears while the frog screamed in terror. 

No time, her panicked thoughts ran in dizzying circles. No time, no time. With a snarl of her own, the blonde girl stood between the yellow frog and the giant red mantis. 

“Go ahead,” she glared at it, her heartbeat slowing. “Try me. I dare you.” 

It roared again, raising its claw. In a flash, Sasha was holding it back. Pink flashed behind her eyes again. 

“You! Frog girl! I’ll hold him, just go!” 

But the yellow frog shook her head. Instead, she jumped to a nearby tree, grabbing a vine. As quickly as she could, she hopped around the mantis, ensnaring it. It screeched again, but this time she was ready. The frog pulled one end of the vine, shouting “NOW!” at Sasha to grab the other one. Together, they tugged as hard as they could, and the beast lost balance, falling over with a loud thump.  

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Sasha mused quietly, rubbing her hands together. She ignored the sudden burning sensation in the back of her throat. 

As they both sat down in the mud, the frog breathed in awe. “You… saved me, even when you didn’t have to,” she said. “You’re a hero! A really, really unattractive hero! That was AMAZING!!” 

“Excuse me, I’m just having a bad hair day,” Sasha huffed, wiping some dirt off her leg. More like a bad everything day. “But yeah, it… was pretty cool.” She brushed her hair out of her face and grinned. 

“You got a name?” the yellow frog asked. “Since I can’t just keep calling you ‘the beast’ in my head. I’m Ivy Sundew, by the way!” She held out her hand and beamed. 

“Name’s Sasha Waybright,” Sasha replied, taking it. Immediately the girl recoiled. “Uhmmm, your hand just… barfed. All over my hand.” Ivy laughed, as though that was the funniest thing in the world. 

Ivy. What a nice name, Sasha thought. 

“Say, uh, Ivy. What are you doing out here in the woods all by yourself?"

"Oh, um." The yellow frog looked at her feet. "Well, uh. I was… adventuring, yeah. I come out here all the time!" she added cheerfully. "My mom lets me pick herbs for her tea shop!"

"Oh." Sasha figured there was more to the story, but didn't press the issue. "…You got anything a girl like me could eat?” 

“Sure!” Ivy scooped up a handful of dirt and pulled a wriggling beetle grub out of it. “Eat up, sister!” 

“Anything… not bugs?” 

“Hmm. Not into bugs?” Ivy hummed thoughtfully. “We might have to forage around a little bit. I’m a forager! And a beast-tamer! And a mantis-slayer! AND I have a new best friend! Whoo-hoo!” She hopped off, Sasha’s growling stomach urging her to follow. 

“Sorry, you’re cute and all,” she said as they walked, “but you’re not even close to being my best friend.” No one will ever be close to meaning as much to me as Anne and Marcy do.

“What?” Ivy turned around with a heartbroken expression. Sasha had learned to ignore these. 

“I’m just saying, we only met, like, a couple of minutes ago.” 

“Yeah, but we saved each other’s lives! Surely that means something, right?” 

Sasha sighed. “Listen. You seem like a nice kid. But-” 

“Hey, uh, look, we’re here!” Ivy chirped nervously, interrupting the blonde. She parted the ferns in front of them, and Sasha was met with direct sunlight for the first time in… a while. 

“Whoa.” 

Whoa, indeed.

“Welcome to Wartwood!” Ivy explained. “We don’t get a lot of visitors often, but my family owns an inn, so we’re more used to… unusual guests than the rest of the town. Plus, you saved my life! I’m sure everyone will-” 

“BEAST!” someone screamed. 

“IT’S A MONSTER!! IVY, LOOK OUT!” 

In moments, the entire town was in chaos. 

Someone threw a net over Sasha, who screamed and thrashed. “Hey, get this off of me!” 

Ivy stepped back in horror, but Sasha pinned her down with a glare. 

“I trusted you, and you set me up? Seriously??” 

“No, no no no, you got this all wrong! Everyone, please, stop, she’s with me!!” the yellow frog begged. 

“Ivy, this thing was about to eat you!” exclaimed one of the frogs, a little pink one that Sasha already hated with a burning passion. 

“No, she wasn’t! She saved my life from a mantis, it’s true!” At the gasps of the townsfolk, Ivy continued. “It’s out in the forest a little ways, it was headed towards town! But Sasha stopped it!” 

“Ivy, darling, are you alright?” A tall, brighter yellow frog rushed over, hugging Ivy. Sasha assumed it was her mother. 

“I’m fine, mom, but you have to convince the town to let Sasha go!” 

The yellow frog stared at Sasha for a moment, then turned to whisper to a fat toad with a cane. Sasha got the strange feeling she should accuse him of tax fraud. 

Everyone in the crowd murmured with each other for a few moments. 

“Alright, untie it,” said the toad, who Sasha assumed was the mayor. “Carefully. If you’re wrong about this, Sundew, you’ll be the first to pay.” 

“I understand.” 

As soon as the ropes were free, Sasha stood up. She was taller than all of the surrounding frogs, however some only by a few inches. A few frogs gasped or stepped back, horrified expressions on their faces. 

“I-I taste terrible,” someone murmured frantically. 

“I bet you do,” Sasha replied, deadpan. She turned to look at Ivy and her mother. “Listen,” she said. “Thank you for helping me, but I have to get back to my friends. So if you could give me a map and some rations and maybe, I dunno, fresh clothes or something, that’d be great.” 

“Oh, no, that simply won’t do,” Ms. Sundew shook her head. “Frog Valley is surrounded by cliffs that are impassible this time of year. It will clear up in a couple of months, but until then you’ll have to stay with us.” 

“Stay with you. For two whole months. Oh, God.” Sasha slid to her knees. “This is going to be a nightmare.” 

“Now, now, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Ms. Sundew soothed. “We’ll get you all cleaned up, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to eat something, dear - you look half-starved!” As if on cue, Sasha’s stomach grumbled. 

“Alright,” the girl sighed, standing up again. “Show me something to eat, I guess.” 

“Oh, you’re gonna love it here,” Ivy bounced up and down as the crowd dispersed. “Speaking of which, where are you from, anyways? And what exactly are you?” 

“I’m from Earth, which I assume isn’t… here. Because we don’t have talking frog people, as far as I know.” 

Ivy nodded, though she seemed a little disbelieving. 

“And I’m a human being. Which probably doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“Nope,” Ivy replied brightly. “Welcome to Amphibia, Sasha.” 

Felicia’s Tea Shoppe (Sasha assumed Felicia was Ivy’s mom’s name) was a building shaped, quite literally, like a teapot. The three came in through the door, Sasha tracking mud on the ground. Felicia pointed towards a bathroom, producing a set of fresh clothes from… somewhere. The girl took them after a moment’s hesitation. 

“Why don’t you go and get yourself cleaned up, and I’ll prepare something for you to eat.” 

“She doesn’t like bugs,” Ivy offered helpfully. Felicia smiled kindly. 

“I’ll see what I can do.” 

The moment the door was closed, Sasha collapsed to her knees. Tears from nowhere started pooling up in the corners of her eyes and streaming down her face, and in the private space of the bathroom, she let them fall. She didn’t know if she was ever going to see Anne or Marcy again. She had no idea if they were dead or alive or on a different planet or what was going on. 

You need to stay strong for them, her mind whispered. You can’t lose them just because you gave up. 

With her mind made up, the girl did as she was told. She cleaned the mud off her body and put on the new clothes, and even tried to pluck the leaves and twigs that had gotten entangled there out of her hair. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she sighed and gave up, stepping out of the bathroom in a shirt and overalls. It was nothing fancy - the shirt was pale blue and the overalls were a sort of dark, earthy brown, but she couldn’t complain because these clothes were not only clean but warm. There was also a pair of brown farming boots (which, weirdly enough, fit her perfectly) that she slipped on, and she’d never admit it, but they were far more comfortable than the black high-heeled shoes she’d been wearing before. 

“Whoa!” Ivy yelped. “You look totally different when you aren’t covered in mud!” 

Sasha laughed, tossing her hair. “Told you I was having a bad day.” She sat down at the table next to the frog girl, glancing at the plate of mushrooms and roots sitting in front of her. 

“Go on,” Ivy nudged. 

With only one more beat of hesitation, Sasha grabbed something that looked somewhat appetizing and popped it in her mouth. Immediately the girl started chewing. 

“Oh, wow.” 

Ivy gave her a smug look, and Sasha choked a little bit out of surprise. “I mean, it’s okay,” the girl corrected herself.

Felicia smiled. “Help yourself, since you’ll be our guest for a while. Just know that you’ll have to help out around here if you want to stay with us.” 

“Uh-huh, sure,” replied Sasha, barely listening as she shoveled more food into her mouth. 

It was a little while later when Ivy showed Sash to her room. It wasn’t that big, but it had a soft-looking bed and that was good enough for her. 

“Good night, Sasha,” Ivy beamed. “I’m glad you’re staying with us.” 

“Me, too.” 

As soon as the door closed, Sasha panicked and picked through her pockets. It wasn’t there. Then she slapped herself on the forehead and felt through her hair. She wasn’t going to question how the little photograph got there. 

Sitting down on the impossibly soft bed, Sasha laid the picture of her friends on the nightstand beside her. Herself, Anne, and Marcy smiled at the photographer. Beneath the image was a sparkly note that read "BFFS" in bold letters. 

“Hold on, girls. I’m coming for you.” She smiled wistfully. She would get back to them. “And if - when I find you, we’re gonna get home.” Her wistful smile turned into a mischievous grin as she looked up at the closed door. “But first, I think we’re gonna have some fun with this place.”