Playtime for Toad (Open to 1)

[Master Dimentio]

Toad had been wandering around taking in natures beauty for hour upon hours on in. It was always good to take time off from exploring vast lands in search of adventure and of course treasure. His wandering lead him to large wide open field covered in green grass with a lone tree up upon a small slope. 

"Ohhh ahhhhhh!" Toad began babbling with his adorable yet shrill tone of voice. He approached the tree on the slope and walked underneath the shade of the towering figure. The boy then looked up to see how massive the tree was in comparison to him. With the gentle spring breeze blowing and the sun beaming the young Toad felt completely relaxed. He laid down on the grass underneath the tree letting out a big yawn before finally falling asleep. Upon closer examination, the soft sound of snoring could be heard coming from the adorable little youngster.

[Kismet]

“Now that,” I said aloud, “is one ugly jelly.”

I’d wandered into the woods on a whim, being the natural explorer type, but so far the expedition was a dud. The trees were neat, but the novelty wore off after the first hundred or so. There weren’t even any bears in any of them.

It was my first time outside Inkopolis, so I figured a field trip out into “nature” would make a good story for the kids back home. There probably wasn’t a single squid my age that had got out into some proper wilderness, let alone Octovalley. I’d be the freshest kid around! They’d all crowd around for stories of my daring escapades and wilds tamed!

Or that would be what would happen, if this place wasn’t so stinkin’ lame.

There wasn’t no music, no tv, no food, no nothing! What did people do out here in the woods? No wonder the place was empty. You better believe I was right about to turn around, but then I spotted it. A clearing through the trees, and lying in the grass was…something.

I peeked a closer look, and saw right quick that it was a jelly. Had to be. Ain’t nothing else it coulda been with that bloated head. But it was a weird jelly. A right ugly jelly, all pale and spotted like it was sick. I never thought I’d see one way out here though, so I knew I had to go see what was up.

It was only when I was right on top of the thing that I saw it wasn’t a jelly at all. I dunno what it was.

But I was gonna find out.

“Hey,” I said, nudging it with my foot. “Wake up. What kinda jelly are you anyway? You supposed to look like that?”

[Master Dimentio]

Toad let out a small whine of "Wahh" before he started to wake up. He sat up onto his behind and slowly got onto his feet. But of course not before he let out an loud but adorable little yawn. Everything was blurry for a few seconds as the youngster was still half asleep. Moments had passed and finally he was able to make out a clear image who awoke him.

"Ohhh? Hey!" Toad exclaimed happily as he waved to this new person. To him, she looked like just an ordinary little girl. Toad unfortunately being asleep missed most of what this girl was asking him. "I'm sorry were you trying to talk to me just now? I didn't quite catch everything you said cause I was sleeping. Can you repeat that for me please?" 

The young child from the Mushroom Kingdom was always of the polite type, despite being one of thousand upon thousands of look alikes back home. He gave the girl a gentle yet friendly smile awaiting her response. 

[Kismet]

“Oh hey, you can talk real good” I said, totally surprised. Most jellies had a lot of trouble speaking proper, but this guy was even better than Jelonzo. Maybe he wasn’t a jelly at all? Now that he was right up in my face, I wasn’t so sure. He didn’t have very many legs, and the big bloaty part of his head sat atop a kinda normal lookin’ face. Maybe I’d discovered a whole new species of creature!

“Yeah, I’m sorry to wake ya Chum, I was just wonderin’ what ya are. You some kinda jelly? Yer not diseased are ya?” I took a slight step back and squinted at him. I couldn’t be too careful, after all.

[Master Dimentio]

Toad gave a smile at the mystery girl before finally speaking his response. "Who me? Oh! Yeah! My name is Toad!  I'm from the species of Toad that widely inhabits an area called the Mushroom Kingdom! My home is very far away from where we are though. I usually come around these parts when exploring, going on adventures, and finding treasure. We Toads are harmless yet peaceful creatures. We wouldn't hurt a fly, promise!" The youngster gave a polite yet reassuring nod to the girl.

"Oh wait... I'm sorry. I never got your name. Who are you... umm and I guess what are you?"

[Kismet]

“AAAAUUG” I cried, slapping my hand against my forehead. Terrible! Just terrible! I slid my hand down my face and glared at the little guy.

“Whadya mean you’re harmless!?” I said, pointing an accusing finger at Toad. “Listen bud, I’m looking for the leanest-meanest-toughest-roughest buncha critters that there ever was. I can’t lead a buncha softies inta battle! No one’s gonna sit rapt with fascination over the discovery of a buncha pacifists!”

I sighed, super disappointed. With his weird deformed head, I thought maybe he was some kinda killer jelly or something. Or fulla poison or secret fangs or something crazy. Instead, it looked like this guy had the fortitude and the physique of a marshmallow.

A filthy, filthy marshmallow.

“What the heck kinda name is Toad anyway?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips and leaning forward, squinting. “You got named after yer species? You aren’t even an amphibian are you?” This guy was just too weird, let me tell you. I was about to skip right off, but then I had a thought.

“But I guess…being an explorer is pretty cool.” My hand raised to my chin, all contemplative like. “Yeah, that’s pretty fresh. You gotta be at least a little brave to go off into the unknown. That’s just what I’m doing right now, actually.”

I stuck my hand out, nodding in approval.

“I'm Steph. Good job Toad. You’re hired.”

[Master Dimentio]

There was no intent from Toad originally to sound so accusing of this girl of taking him as a threat... but he wasn't prepared for the words that would follow. 

"Soft.... ie...?" He said to himself with a sad tone and an equally as sad expression  on his face.

The youngster was pretty sure this girl was going to turn around and leave him when she seemed to take a sudden interest in his exploration ways. What exactly was she trying to recruit this youngster for anyways? These questions flew through the mushroom capped kid's oblivious head. All of the sudden the next words to come out of her mouth was "you're hired" but what exactly was he "hired" for?

"Well you tell you the truth... I'm kinda am a bit of a scaredy cat but can have my moments of braveness. I don't really have that much in the ways of power or fighting. To be completely honest I'm kind of a weakling. So... ummm... I'm not really sure how useful I would be to you for this umm... army you are recruiting. "

He stopped to think for a moment, when suddenly Toad had an idea. "Oh wait... I may not have all the skills you would need to fight your battles but I do know a few people who could maybe help you! Plus I unlike other Toads, I have really deep pockets full of money. Because of all the exploration and treasure hunting I've done over the years, I've managed to financially secure myself for life!"

Suddenly he snapped out of his train of thought as Toad quickly remembered that this mystery girl introduced herself when she said "you're hired" Steph? That was quite the nice name. But anything is better than having the generic name of your species represent you for life.

"Oh Steph was it? Sorry I rambled on there for a little bit. It's nice to meet you!"

[Kismet]

I shook the little guy’s hand, firm but gentle. I had to project a cool aura of authority, but I also couldn’t crush his little marshmallow hands either. It’s tricky, being a leader. Ya gotta balance yourself between being an iron-willed dictator with a heart of stone and a benevolent mother figure. Yer underlings gotta respect and love ya, but also have the fear of god in their inky hearts.

“Don’t you worry Toad,” I said, balling my fists and placing them on my hips. The correct posture was important when being the boss. “You’re the explorer type, so you’re gonna explore. Don’t worry that you’re soft as a jelly! You’re gonna help me find the guys that are tough. You’re gonna find me the biggest, baddest fighters around.”

I nodded to myself, thinking this new development over. Toad wasn’t what I was looking for, but he just might be the first step.

“But if yer gonna be a part of my team, Toad, yer gonna call me ‘Captain.’”