Chapter 2 (continued): A New Home in Wartwood
Branch led Nicole and Victoria through the woods until the trees parted, revealing a small, quirky frog village built around a big old tree. Colorful mushroom homes, wooden carts, and lily pad gardens filled the area.
"Welcome to Wartwood!" Branch announced with a grin.
The girls looked around in awe. "This is… actually kind of cool," Victoria admitted.
They were soon brought to a cozy-looking farmhouse with a front porch and vegetable garden. An old frog with suspenders and a cane stood out front, squinting at them.
"Branch, what in the name of calamity is this?" he asked.
"These are Nicole and Victoria—they kinda dropped out of the sky," Branch explained.
"Another pair of humans, huh?" the old frog muttered. "Name's Hop Pop. And this here's Polly."
A small pink tadpole with stubby arms popped her head out of the door. "Whoa! Real-life human girls! This is awesome!"
Nicole laughed. "Nice to meet you both. We don't really know how we got here, but we're looking for our friends."
Hop Pop stroked his chin. "Well, while you're figuring that out, you can stay here with us. Plenty of room."
"Really?" Victoria asked, surprised.
"Of course!" said Branch. "We Wartwood folks might be odd, but we don't leave people hanging."
Nicole and Victoria smiled. For now, at least, they had a place to call home.