A/N: Like last time, I didn't have a beta for this. Typos are sure to abound.

"Hey, wait up Jason Funderburker!" I turned to look at the round little boy before jumping into the rushing river's water. My eyes saw through the bubbles as the taller one grabbed his elbow before he could splash after me.

Everyone would say that I should just run away from the two humans if I stray from them at almost every opportunity. Of course, some would state that I never leave because I care for them. And while that may be true on some level, the reason is much simpler than that.

I was never like other 'pets'— as the humans like to call us – and I am tied to these boys by responsibility alone.

It has grown to something akin to love by this time, but responsibility has kept me at their side throughout most of their excursion into the Unknown. No one, except for the tall child, has ever questioned why a frog would almost drown when it us perfectly capable of swimming to safety.

I have repeated the same question in my head since that day exactly a year ago, and I have found what I think must be the answer. Everyone, no matter how old or young, needs someone to guide them.

"Where's your frog?" The voice sends my thoughts to a screeching halt and I swim up to the surface.

A girl with fiery red hair is sitting at the grassy slope that leads to the river, her attention focused on the youngest brother as he talks. I have visited her months ago in a sanitized hospital room and remember her face well. But of course, even now her face seems unfamiliar after seeing her as bluebird most of the time.

She has changed much since then. The hair she tugs at is still uneven and short, and ugly red burn marks cover her arms.

But she does not cover them up. Even the large scar on her forehead that has just begun to heal is shown in what seems to be a proud fashion; which is strange, since scars are supposed to be covered up, at least in my opinion. I admit that I consider myself smarter than your usual frog, but humans have continued to surprise me at every turn.

I see the tall boy hovering at the river's edge and I swim closer, letting him pull me up and into his arms.

He walks over to the conversing duo and slumps onto the grass, a smile passing over his features. It wasn't the first time he and his little brother have brought me here.

At first it was only the three of us, and they spoke of the Unknown like it was fairy tale that they had only read about and not experienced themselves. But then the girl managed to find her way out of the Unknown and they started bringing her along with them.

Their voices changed since then, the once usually hushed and whispered tales of the strange tavern and Adelaide of the Pasture changing into happy exclamations of the older boy's success at playing the bassoon and of the girl Lorna. I would never admit it, but the girl has changed the two for the better.

"Oh, here's your frog, Greg."

"Thanks, Wirt!" Their exchange catches my attention and I look up.

A surprised croak escapes my wide green mouth just as the little boy plucks me up into his arms, shaking most of the water still clinging to my dangling legs.

The boy's plump face comes into view. "Tsk, tsk, Jason Funderburker. You didn't even wear your socks."

With a rough tug, itchy woollen socks are pulled up to my knees.

They're nothing compared to the clothes those high-society frogs wore, but the brothers had asked for these socks for my sake, and a smile reaches my own face. Smiling is hard to do when you're a frog, and my kind usually smile at only the happiest moments of their lives. I have never been a fan of it myself, but I'm slowly getting used to doing on a daily basis.

My eyes catch the roiling blush that covers the older boy's face before he manages to fight it away, his eyes on the red-headed girl. I sigh internally and look away.

The night is deepening. I look up to see swirling black and blue skies dotted with twinkling white stars.

"Beatrice?" The tall boy squeezes his eyes shut before leaning over to catch the girl's eye.

"What is it?"

"Would you – I mean, I if you want to –"

A higher-pitched voice cuts him off. "Wirt wanted to invite you to see him play for the school's marching band. He's doing a solo clarinet perfro-pefro –" the word gets stuck in the little boy's mouth.

"Performance," the answer comes naturally to the older of the two, which is surprising since his skin has paled and his eyes are wide. He looks down at his younger brother before meeting the girl's slightly baffled stare.

He winces and is about to apologize when the girl grins. "When are you performing?"

"What? U-um, next Thursday."

"Better be good. I'm gonna bring my family." The girl reaches around the little boy between them to elbow the older brother in the side. I don't miss the blush she fights to keep hidden.

"Yay! Beatrice is coming!"

And so, I watch from the little boy's lap as three lost souls find each other with kind words and lighthearted laughs.

A/N: So, what do you think of my take on Jason Funderburker's inner thoughts? He seemed like a really deep character on the show, what with him singing about lovely lies and all.

This story happens exactly a year after Wirt and Greg almost drown in the river. I didn't want to mention it at the beginning because it's in a frog's perspective, and Jason Funderburker wouldn't know/care about what date it was.

And yes, they're wearing Halloween costumes, but I'll leave that for you all to imagine. Beatrice doesn't go to the same school as them, obviously, and probably attends some private school in Aberdale.

I've been writing this chapter ever since this story received five reviews and I scrapped so many epilogue ideas, so I hope you all like it!