Patchwork People

Pinpin exited the wooden barn to find that morning had already passed. Tatterbat was still fast asleep, and had it not been for her nerves and excitement, Pinpin would’ve been doing the same. The journey she’d gone on had knocked a lot of energy out of her system.

It was so strange to see just how normal everything was. Despite their journey, despite their trials and rewards, the town was just the same as ever. No-one had even noticed they’d been absent, nor were there any signs that the Ragworm had just been here hours previously. Yarnfell had clearly been busy tying up their loose ends. She hoped that those who saw her yesterday would be passing it off as a tired mirage.

Pinpin made her way down the road, trying to see where Yarnfell was staying. She imagined he’d be close by, and would likely be somewhere discreet. Sure enough, she entered a nearby field to find a tattered tent, with the sound of snoring coming from inside. Adjacent to it, a large, bulging rug moved up and down, accompanied with the sound of heavy breathing.

“Good hiding place, then.” Pinpin whispered to herself.

“Well, look who finally turned up.” A voice called out. The strands of string parted nearby, and from it Needly emerged, giving off his signature grin.

“Needly? What are you doing here?” Pinpin asked.

“Looking for you. I was hoping that ragboy Tatterbat would’ve been here as well, but I guess he was too lazy to join you.”

“I left him to sleep. We both needed rest.”

“Yes, well. I guess he doesn’t need to be here for this, as long as you relay what I tell you.”

Pinpin frowned. Just what did he scheming?

“You don’t have to look so judgemental.” Needly scoffed. “I haven’t even told you what it is yet.”

“I’m just preparing myself.” Pinpin said.

“Hmph. You’re lucky I don’t change my mind often. Listen, Pinpin. You went on this trip to get me the money you thought you owed me, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But I nearly ruined that for you. That, and you offered an alternative way out, what with Tatterbat admitting to stealing the bug instead of losing it.”

“What are you getting at?”

“What I’m saying is, you don’t need to pay me anything, alright? I can get things done on my own. I don’t need your help.”

“But Needly, what about-”

“But nothing. You don’t have to do anything for me, because I’m not returning any favour. I don’t need it to become superior.”

Pinpin opened her mouth to speak, but held her voice. Thinking about it, Needly was right. In his own way, this was his apology. The best Pinpin could do was accept it.

“Alright, that’s fine.” she smiled. Perhaps it was a good thing that Tatterbat wasn’t around to hear this. There was no way he would’ve let it slide so easily.

“Well, that’s settled then.” Needly pushed his glasses back. “I’m going home. If you want to give me that bug, I’ll be waiting there. You should go ahead and speak to Yarnfell, and tell him what I told you.”

“Very well. Goodbye, Needly.”

Needly scoffed, and left without another word.

The snoring from the tent had stopped, and Pinpin heard a slight rustling coming from within. Her conversation with Needly must’ve woken the scarecrow up.

“Kid?” came Yarnfell’s voice from within. “That you?”

“Um, yes sir.” Pinpin stammered. “Sorry to wake you.”

“Nah, it’s nothin’. Bout time I got up.” Yarnfell poked his head out of the tent, complete with his wide hat. He wore a sly smirk on his face. “I take it you’re here for our little wager, then.”

Pinpin’s patches went red. “Well, yeah, I guess. I would’ve bought Tatterbat along, but he was sound asleep, so I didn’t want to wake him.”

Yarnfell’s body joined his head in emerging from the tent. It was a strange sight to see, as compared to his lanky frame, the tent seemed much too small. Pinpin wondered how he even fit in there, let alone be in a comfortable enough position to nod off.

He rubbed his chin in a sly manner. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s been a slight last minute change to this deal, hasn’t there?”

“Oh, right. Needly didn’t want the money in the end.” Pinpin said.

“I’m a man of my word, but the word was that the leaves you got were to be used to pay back your young friend. Of course, there would’ve been some left over for you as a bonus, but your friend doesn’t want the money anymore.”

Pinpin pouted. He was technically correct, in a way. Their reward was for Needly. But at the same time, she felt somewhat cheated out of a prize. Even if it wasn’t theirs to keep, holding the money would have at least felt good.

“Now, I can’t just be throwing money your way. That’s not how a scarecrow succeeds in life.” Yarnfell inspected Pinpin’s sour expression, before glancing at the Ragworm that lay dormant nearby. “But then again, you didn’t exactly succeed in doing what you were told to do.”

“What? Yes we did! We got Ragworm fair and square!”

“Oh no. You were meant to enter Nes into the competition. Those leaves were from the prize money, remember? However, I don’t see ol’ Nes friend here with an entry ID, and if you were planning on entering him, then deceiving poor Needly by returning his bug isn’t exactly a nice thing, is it?”

Pinpin gasped. She’d completely forgotten! The Ragworm was meant to be entered into the competition. It was too late to do it now, especially with the lengths Yarnfell was going to cover up their tracks. She glanced up at Yarnfell with large, puppy-dog eyes, trying to appeal with a silent cry.

Yarnfell, however, was still smiling.

“Aw, don’t look at me like that! You’ll break this old scarecrow’s heart.”

“But… our journey…”

“You changed the terms and conditions of our wager.” Yarnfell leaned in close, and gave a sly wink. “So I guess it’s only fair that I can do the same thing, right?”

Pinpin gulped, and held her hands to her mouth.

“You see, kid, I never thought you’d bring him all the way back here. That’s why I gave you the camera, because if you did find him, you’d have a picture to enter instead. But you went above that. Nes here was never meant to be shown off in public, so maybe it’s a blessing you didn’t enter him, after all.”

“So what were we supposed to do?”

“Nothing. You’ve done nothing wrong. Allow me to change the bet, and have your terms be to simply show me the Ragworm. In such a case, you’ve succeeded, right?”

“I-I guess so.”

“So in that case, you still get your reward.”

Pinpin’s hair stood on end and she glowed with radiant joy. “I do? I really do?!”

“However, it can’t simply just be prize money. I have to save those leaves for the real winner of the competition. A shame, but surely you understand.”

“I know young master Tatterbat isn’t here right now, so I will allow you to excuse yourself if needed. But do tell me, is there anything else you’d like in return?”

Pinpin gave it a long thought. Losing the money was tough, but she never really thought of a proper use for it. She tried to come up with an alternative, something that would’ve mattered.

Of course, there was only one option.

“I have an idea.” Pinpin said.

“Oh? Do tell.” Yarnfell stuck an ear out.

“If you can, I’d like you to fix our nets, please. Tatterbat’s especially.” Pinpin looked at the ground, turning red. “And, uh, this might seem selfish, but him and I have this old hut that we use for our bug catching. If it’s not too much to ask, could you help us repair it a bit?”

Yarnfell scratched his chin. “That it, kid? The prize money was worth much more than that. I could get you some top of the range equipment.”

Pinpin gave a firm nod. “Yes, sir. Me and Tatterbat talked about it on the journey. We aren’t after the latest stuff. We just want to repair what we already have.”

With that, Yarnfell clapped his hands together. “Done! I’ll speak to the lad later to confirm, but our wager has been set in stone. You may have to wait until the end of the competition, as I’m awfully busy, but a scarecrow never backs out of a bet. You will have your items repaired and rejuvenated.”

Pinpin grinned. “That’s- Thank you, sir!”

“It’s nothing compared to what you did for me.” Yarnfell brushed his coat down. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I got a Collosasect to attend to.”

As if in response, a muffled sound came from underneath the rug, and the Ragworm’s head poked out from underneath.

“Yes, of course. Thank you again, Mister Yarnfell!”

“Just Yarnfell. And no problem. Have a good day, lady Pinpin.”

Pinpin ran off back into the field. She couldn’t wait to tell Tatterbat the news. She sprinted down the pathways, narrowly avoiding collisions with more than one traveler, and made a beeline straight toward the barn. When she got there, she barged the door open, finding Tatterbat wearily getting up.

“Tatter!” Pinpin shouted. “I’ve got some good news for you!”