The road to the South Forest was lined with pastel-colored cobblestones. Ones that bounced slightly under Nightclown's feet. As if they were made of rubber.
The open gate ahead was a massive arched thing. Painted in spiraling stripes of orange and green. Guarded by a bored-looking anthropomorphic bulldog. In a comically oversized helmet.
"A new kid?" The guard yawned. Barely glancing at Nightclown. "Whatever. If you go out there... Watch out for the Waltzing Trees. They've been extra twitchy these days."
Nightclown grinned. "Twitchy how?"
The bulldog's answer was a slow blink. "They've been dancing of course. Oh, and beware of the fairies. It's their Annoying Day. Er... And the Bomb Mushrooms I suppose. But they should be sleeping. Now, go! Leave me alone."
Nightclown stepped out of the Toon Forest Village. Beyond the gate, the South Forest loomed. A riot of exaggerated foliage. Trunks striped like candy canes. Leaves shimmering in impossible hues. The air smelled fresh and sweet somehow.
A worn wooden sign pointed down a dusty track. It was painted in bold, blocky letters. 'South Forest' was written on it.
He followed it. The vibrant green trees lining the path seemed to emit an unnatural energy.
He kept a steady pace. His shoeless feet and blue joggers were kicking up small puffs of cartoon dust. His grey hare ears swiveled. Taking in every rustle, every distant, unidentifiable squawk.
This shouldn't just be a walk in the park. This was resource gathering. In a realm of sentient, unpredictable chaos. He expected the unexpected. But even his Earth-honed sense of the absurd was about to be tested.
The path soon narrowed. Dipping into a denser part of the forest. The trees here were taller. Their leaves were a deeper, almost oppressive emerald.
And then... The air grew still. Then a faint, rhythmic creaking began. Not wind. Something else.
A massive oak tree ahead twisted. Its thick roots writhed across the path like colossal, sluggish snakes. A thick branch swept down. Just missing his head, as he ducked to evade.
"Waltzing Trees." Nightclown muttered. Recalling the brief warning the guard mentioned. "Yeah, right."
Another tree, a spindly birch, began to pirouette. Its delicate branches performing a surprisingly aggressive ballet.
Its roots churned the earth where Nightclown had planned to step. This wasn't just a passive obstacle course. It was a living, moving puzzle.
He initially tried to navigate them like any normal person would. By carefully timing his movements. By looking for patterns.
He dodged a sweeping branch. Ducked under a flexing root. He had to jump over a sudden, upward lurch of earth. As one tree did a bizarre, root-lifting hop.
It was exhausting. And ineffective. The trees seemed to anticipate his cautious, logical movements. Their dance had become more chaotic. More targeted.
A particularly stubborn sycamore blocked his path. Its roots formed an impassable, shifting wall.
He stared at it. Exasperated. His human instincts screamed for an axe, a chainsaw, or at least a clear path.
Then he remembered. This wasn't Sherra. This wasn't Earth. This was Toonworld. And he had a trick.
"Alright, let's try this." He grumbled. More to himself than the trees. He focused. "Stretch!"
His legs from the knee down, elongated with a soft whup-whup-whup sound. Like a fast-forwarded tape. It shot out. Rubbery and absurdly long.
Now, taller than the sycamore's root barrier, he stepped over it easily. His body naturally followed the stretched limb like a piece of elastic rubber. Once he passed the barrier, his leg snapped back to normal with a gentle thwap.
He stared at his normal leg. Then back at the now-clear path. A slow grin spread across his hare face. "Okay. That's... useful."
The trees continued their rhythmic, aggressive swaying. A giant redwood swung a branch directly at him. Instead of dodging, Nightclown stretched his body horizontally. Flattening himself to a paper-thin silhouette.
The branch whistled harmlessly over his head. He then popped back to his normal dimensions. A slight pop! sound accompanying the return.
He began to play. A root snaked out to trip him? He stretched his legs. Stepping high over it. Then used the momentum to spring forward.
A cluster of trees formed a dizzying, swirling vortex of branches? He stretched his arms. Grabbing onto a distant, stationary rock. Pulling himself through the chaotic ballet.
For a second just now, he considered stretching his whole body to bridge the gap. But decided against it. Still slightly hesitant about the extent of his toon powers.
His caution soon melted away. Replaced by a growing sense of mischievous glee. This wasn't a problem to solve. It was a game to win.
He started anticipating the trees' movements. Not to avoid. But to interact.
He would stretch an arm to lightly tap a waltzing tree on its bark. Causing it to flail wildly for a moment before regaining its composure.
He used his elongated legs to twirl in the form of coiled springs. Then he released them. Launching himself. Allowing him to jump over the tree.
He felt a genuine chuckle bubbling up from his chest. This was ridiculous. This was glorious.
He burst out of the Waltzing Trees zone. Slightly winded. A smudge of bark dust was on his blue T-shirt. But a wide, invigorated grin plastered on his face. He felt like he'd just joined a bizarre, high-speed interpretive dance. And held his own.
A moment of peace. Then came the giggling. High-pitched, tinkling, utterly obnoxious giggling.
Nightclown's ears twitched. Small, iridescent blurs zipped around him. They were tiny. Barely thumb-sized. With gossamer wings and mischievous grins. Naughty Fairies.
"Hey there, little fellas." Nightclown said. Trying to be friendly. But he was vigilant. He remembered what the bulldog guard said about the fairies. It was their Annoying Day. Whatever it was.
One of them zipped past his ear. A cloud of sparkly, pink dust burst near his cheek. An immediate, intense itching sensation exploded across his face. He slapped at it. Missing the tiny culprit.
"Woah! What was that?" He exclaimed. Scratching furiously.
Another fairy dove. Releasing a cloud of pink dust on his arm. Then his leg. Then his long ear. Soon, his entire body was engulfed in a maddening, all-consuming itch. He started scratching everywhere at once. Looking like a manic, blue-clad grey fur-ball.
"Stop it! This isn't funny!" He yelled. But the fairies only laughed harder. Their high-pitched squeals echoing around him.
They dove and darted very quickly. Impossible to hit. His hands flailed uselessly. Only increasing the friction and the itch.
Human logic dictated finding repellent. Or maybe just enduring. Toon logic... demanded retaliation.
He stopped scratching, forcing himself to focus. The itch was still there. But he could compartmentalize. He mentally activated [Stretch!].
His arms and fingers elongated. Becoming long, rubbery appendages that snaked around him. Like a bizarre, living net.
The fairies were surprised by the sudden change in his form. They zipped away. Their laughter was momentarily faltering.
"Oh, you think you're clever, do you?" Nightclown taunted. His voice was still slightly strained from the itch.
He saw a small, stagnant puddle nearby. Not far from the cluster of the fairies. He stretched his leg. And slammed it down into the puddle with a mighty SPLOSH!
A column of muddy water erupted. Arcing high into the air. A few of the fairies, caught by surprise, were drenched.
Their wings, now heavy with water, sputtered. And they dropped to the ground. Squeaking in outrage.
"Take that, you little pests!" Nightclown crowed. Pulling his leg back with a satisfied snap.
The remaining fairies were smarter than they looked. They zipped higher. Out of maximum reach of his stretchy limbs. They began to gather. Forming a dense cloud. Preparing for a mass itch-powder assault.
Nightclown looked around. A cluster of large, bell-shaped flowers swayed gently nearby. He smirked and stretched his arm towards one. Pulling it back.
He then stretched it again. And twanged the stem of the flower.
BOING!
A burst of pollen exploded from the flower. Catching the mass of fairies. It wasn't itch powder. It was just regular, albeit copious, pollen. But it made them sneeze. A chorus of tiny. Adorable "A-choo's!" filled the air. Disrupting their formation.
Nightclown capitalized the chance. He stretched his legs into coiled springs again. Then he released them. Launching himself high into the air. Over the sneezing fairies. And landed on a tall branch of a tree.
As he sailed above them, he stretched his hand downwards. Grabbing a handful of dandelions from a nearby patch. He then shook and released them. Letting the fluffy seeds drift down on the fairies like a gentle, disorienting snowstorm.
"Go find some other poor sod to torment!" He yelled down. Laughing.
The Naughty Fairies were thoroughly annoyed. And outmaneuvered. They zipped away into the deeper forest. Their indignant squeaks and fading.
Nightclown landed. Still vaguely itchy. But triumphant. The grin was wider now. A genuine expression of a prankster having a blast.
He continued his journey. The path becoming less overgrown. The trees thinned a little. Giving way to open clearings. And then he saw them...