Patchwork People

The awakening call of the cuckoo roused Pinpin from her slumber. Sunlight pierced through her patchy curtains, aiming a beam of light directly on her face as she crawled out of the pillow mountain she had been sleeping within. Thankfully, there was no one knocking on her door today, giving her time to prepare. Even without Tatterbat’s arrival, however, Pinpin found herself anxious and antsy, completing her morning tasks with slight shivers. She could barely even hold her sewing needle as she stitched up all the loose threads that had come undone overnight.

Combing her hair was no easy feat, either, with her nervous movements only serving to make each strand stick out more than it did before. Pinpin wanted to look her best for this upcoming adventure, but it seemed she was going to turn up at the meeting spot more frazzled than usual.

Taking one last look at her room, Pinpin inhaled deeply, taking in the nostalgic scent of home. It was only three days, but for Pinpin that was the longest she would’ve ever left the house. She had to remember this moment, to remind herself that no matter what happens, home was always waiting for her when she returned.

Taking her rucsac, Pinpin hoisted it over her shoulder. The contents inside rattled in distaste at her rough movements. Taking her net and bucket in both arms, she pushed opened the door, and looked toward the winding road toward the nearby hill, tinted a mixture of reds and yellows as the morning sun beamed down. Part of her wanted to stay home. A piece of her mind was yelling at her, scared of the danger ahead. But for once in her life, Pinpin ignored her thoughts. With a defiant step, she marched onwards, until she stood at the edge of the village. In her hand, her net was held like a walking stick, with a bag full of foodstuffs and blankets on her back. She looked out toward the distance, past the safe fields of the plains and onto the shapes of Rugtorn Cliffs. That was where they were headed. The very place that two days ago she wasn’t allowed to go near. And not just there. She had to go even further beyond. Down into territories she wasn’t even sure about, and eventually to Ragworm Woods.

From behind, Pinpin heard a clatter. She turned to see Tatterbat, who was stumbling up the hill, panting under the weight of all the items he was carrying. His bag was strapped around his waist, which helpfully kept his trousers up, and he too was using his net like a stick, though much more gently due to the fragility of it. Pinpin wasn’t sure what was in his bag, but it seemed stuffed to the brim, and weighing him down a lot more than hers.

Pinpin held out her hand, and helped him up the final step to the top. When they were level, she smiled at him, glowing.

“Ready?” Pinpin asked.

Tatterbat composed himself, and shot his signature toothy grin. “Ready.”

The two turned toward the horizon. Pinpin stuck out her leg, making an overly dramatic step as she certified within her mind that she was indeed heading out. With it came another step, and another, and soon she was marching firmly on, arms swaying in a rhythmic motion. The road was mostly empty, as it often was this time of day, but in the fields Pinpin saw people from the competition, decked out in bug-catching gear and already on the hunt. Had they been there all night? Pinpin hadn’t the stamina for such a feat, and for a moment felt glad she was doing something else that didn’t involve competing against such serious hobbyists.

There were much more important stakes at hand, though. Pinpin glanced at her net.

“Hey, Tatterbat?” she asked.

“Yeah?” Tatterbat wheezed, leaning on his net.

“You think these nets are big enough to catch Ragworm?”

Tatterbat stared deeply at his own net. “You know, I have no idea.”

“Hmm. What if it’s not enough?”

“Then we find another way. That’s what pro hunters do, right? We improvise and adapt, making sure no enemy can outsmart our wily ways.”

Pinpin giggled softly. “Yeah… yeah! You know what, that’s right. I’m just being dumb.”

“Nah, it’s not dumb. You’re just using your noggin, is all.” Tatterbat tapped his forehead. “Good thing one of us has brains, eh?”

The two laughed. Suddenly, the journey didn’t seem so bad, and Pinpin’s fears silently dissipated from her system. Whatever happened, Tatterbat would be her, and the two of them could defeat anything. They pressed on, heading down the pathways through the string fields, over the bridges, and in between hillsides. The morning sun rose higher and higher, and despite its heat and the constant walking exhausting them, they continued, consciously aware of the time limit they had to get there and back. Three days was not long at all.

“Hey, what’s that?” Tatterbat said. He was pointing toward a fence post in the distance, and Pinpin saw that on top of the fence was a small object, placed carefully on the top.

“I’m not sure,” Pinpin replied. “Let’s go take a closer took.”

They made haste toward the fence post. As they got closer, Pinpin saw that the object was a piece of paper, curled up like a scroll and held together with a piece of ribbon. A label had been tied to it, which Pinpin picked up and inspected.

“Thought this might help ~Yarnfell” Pinpin read aloud, squinting to decipher the messy handwriting. “How strange.”

“I wonder what it is?” Tatterbat said, grabbing the paper and unfurling it. He held it for Pinpin to see.

The paper unfolded to reveal what appeared to be a rather crude map of the area. Some places were missing, distances weren’t right, and the writing was difficult to understand, but it was definitely a map. Even more, Yarnfell had drawn lines and scribbled notes on it, detailing ideal routes and tips for them. A circle marked their current location, with multiple arrows pointing toward the Ragworm Woods, which is where they needed to go.

“Man, this thing is old.” Tatterbat commented, flicking the creased corners and rubbing his finger on the tape holding it together. “Might even be older than the scarecrow himself.”

“ Yeah, look how yellow the paper is. We best be extra careful with it.” Pinpin said, taking the map from Tatterbat to get a closer look at the route they needed to take.

“Yarnfell left it for us?” Tatterbat asked.

“That’s what the label says. Guess he thought we needed some extra hints to get to the woods.”

“Actually, that’s a good point. Do you even know where the woods are?”

Pinpin scratched her head. “To be honest, I don’t. I was hoping there’d be signs or something.”

A grin grew on Tatterbat’s face. “Well, good thing Yarnfell thought ahead then. Can’t let this gift go to waste!”

Pinpin returned the smile. “Yes! We’ll have to say thanks when we see him again.”

“I wonder how he knew where we were going to be…”

“He’s quite the mystery. I wouldn’t put something like this past him.”

Tatterbat shrugged. “Oh well. Guess we’ll never know. Let’s have a quick look at the map, then we better get moving.”

They departed shortly after, with Pinpin and Tatterbat keeping up a brisk walk down as they ventured toward the Rugtorn Cliffs. When the town was no longer in sight, Pinpin took out the map and unfurled it. The handwriting was hard to decipher, and the language used was more complex than what she was used to, but Pinpin managed to gather some information. The quickest route was indeed in the canyon between the Rugtorn Cliffs - or ‘Scarecrow’s Fingers’ as it was written here- and once they’d gotten through that, it seemed like they would reach the body of water known as Shimmerstring Lake. The pictures and diagrams indicated that while the lake was large, there was a boat to cross with. Pinpin only hoped it was still there today.

The two of them reached the edge of the fields. In front of them, an orange sea of untended string swayed in the breeze, with various other coloured threads scattered in between. The pathway became dirty and overgrown, and the signpost directing the way was broken, with the names faded. Pinpin found herself standing still, hesitant to cross the invisible border to the wild parts of Patchwork Plains.

“You alright, Pinpin?” Tatterbat asked. Unaware of her stopping, he’d managed to overtake, and was now several steps in front.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pinpin smiled. She felt a cold shiver all over. “I just never thought I’d be coming out this far.”

Tatterbat walked over and patted her on the back. He held his arm in front of him to survey the land.

“We’re proper explorers now. We gotta press on and on. Real adventurers need to keep moving ’til they reach the end.” he nudged her and winked. “Besides, there’s bound to be plenty of rare creatures out here, eh? Well worth the trouble. I’ll even count anything you catch for our collection.”

Pinpin giggled softly to herself and nodded. Reaching into her inner strength, she leaned forward and stuck out a leg, forcing it into the unknown ground to stop her from falling. With the mental barrier broken, a wave of relief filled her cotton body, and the next step came much easier. Finding her pace, Pinpin began her march into the wilderness, Tatterbat by her side. The path was bordered by unkempt fields of thick string, which made it hard to get lost, and the looming mountainside of Rugtorn Cliffs was a handy navigation point for when they did accidentally go the wrong way.

They continued through the morning, going through various hillsides and traversing along plains of many colours. While they heard the sounds of many critters chirping within the overgrown strings, none came out to see them. Not even any bugs, although Pinpin silently praised it, as she knew she would be distracted by the concept of catching new insects if any were around. They stayed within the path, the walls of tall string keeping their way forward clear, but also hiding the scenery from view. If they ever had decided to venture into the field, the sheer height and thickness would’ve gotten them lost in seconds.

It wasn’t long before the shadows of Rugtorn Cliffs lay in front of them. The two barely even noticed just how close they were to their first true obstacle, until they were drenched in the shade and removed from the warm sunlight.

“Wow….” Pinpin exclaimed, craning her head upward to look at the cliffs. They seemed to extend all the way into the sky, and hung over the landscape. She saw bits of string and rope growing within the walls, tangled among itself and drooping down like a braid. The sheer size of the cliffs made her suddenly feel very small - much smaller than usual.

“When did they get so big?” Tatterbat followed up, who was looking further ahead. Six more overhanging cliff drops stood in front of them, three on each side. They almost looked like bent wooden fingers that had emerged from the ground, bringing with them a chunk of the string that now resembled a ripped carpet.

“Rugtorn Cliffs.” Pinpin closed her eyes, recounting the passage she’d remembered from one of her books at home. “Sometimes known as the Scarecrow’s Fingers, due to how it resembles a hand half-submerged in the ground. The large overhangs and numerous caves cover the area in near eternal-shade, making it an ideal habitat for stealthy, dangerous animals.”

“Alright, bookworm.” Tatterbat winked.

“Sorry, I just remembered it all of a sudden.”

“No sweat. It’s good that you know so much.”

In between the cliffs was a rocky dip, with a winding pathway that was surrounded by many, many boulders, each one placed so haphazardly that the valley looked more like an obstacle course than a walking route. It stretched on for quite a while, with the exit far off in the distance, no larger than a pinhead. By the entrance, the pathway seemed to split in two, with what Pinpin assumed was the recommended path venturing for a safer route around the outside. The map, however, suggested heading straight down the middle. With time ticking away, the only course of action was to follow the map, and head into the rugged valley that lay in front.

“I guess the proper route is into more safety than speed.” Pinpin commented.

“A little bit of danger didn’t hurt anyone.” Tatterbat shrugged. “After all, danger is my middle name.”

“It so isn’t.”

“It could be. I’ll never tell.”

They headed down into the valley, climbing over the small rocks that blocked the pathway and going round the large ones. The sky was hidden by the overwhelming presence of the overhangs, and there were only brief intervals in which it could be seen. Despite the many tales of dangerous animals and violent creatures, the two of them had yet to come across anything. There weren’t even any bugs or birds flying around.

A sound came from above. Pinpin looked up, and saw one of the large rope threads swaying in the breeze. It seemed to be splitting from the top, no longer able to support its own weight. She watched as the threads split apart one by one, until finally it snapped, and the rope dangling from above fell down to the ground level. As it hit the floor, it made a mighty boom, the sound of the landing being amplified by the open space, and a giant dust cloud swallowed the area.

Thankfully, it was far away enough to not affect the two of them. Pinpin breathed a sigh of relief, though she made sure to check from now on that they were not standing underneath anything that seemed remotely close to crashing down.

Tatterbat watched as another bit of rope fell. As it hit the floor with a loud smack, his mouth curled into a mischievous smile. He turned toward Pinpin, and poked her on the shoulder.

“Hey, check this out.” he smirked, and put his hands to his mouth. After a hefty inhale he yelled at the top of his voice “HELLOOO!”

The word bounced off the rock walls. “HELLO… Hello…. Hello….” the cliffs repeated back to him, mimicking his voice. The sound seemed to come from everywhere, and Tatterbat burst out laughing, which only served for the walls to laugh back.

“Tatterbat!” Pinpin gasped. He was being reckless again.

The walls responded in turn. “Tatterbat...atterbat...terbat…”

Pinpin couldn’t help but smile. Even if it was a bit dangerous, she had to admit that it was kind of funny. Climbing on top of a large boulder, she too put her hands up and shouted.

“ECHO!”

“Echo… echo… ec...o….” her voice bounded back and forth, repeating over and over. Pinpin gave a huge toothy smile at this discovery. The two found themselves shouting over and over, having conversations and telling jokes to the wind as the cliffside echoed their words. They shouted random words and nonsense talk, giggling and laughing at the voices that responded.

All the noise they were making, however, was not going unnoticed. The animals that had hidden away initially suddenly burst onto the scene, all wanting to get away from these loud intruders. Various Crowrags erupted from the cliffside and flew off into the distance. Nearby Ropepods retreated into their yarnballs. Halfway through the valley, Pinpin spotted something out the corner of her eye. As she peered toward a boulder nearly, a white shape shot behind it out of sight. She motioned Tatterbat to stop. This was something she hadn’t seen before.

“Shh.” she whispered. Tatterbat glanced at her inquisitively.

“What’s goin-”

“Shh” Pinpin shut him off. She pointed toward the boulder, and gestured that there was something behind it. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do next. Should they ignore it? Investigate it? Panic and run?

Tatterbat gestured toward his net in a silent suggestion. Pinpin thought for a second. She only saw the creature briefly, but it seemed to be quite small. Would it fit in their bug net? It would be awfully careless to have Tatterbat lose another limb due to her decisions. They had a sewing kit with them, sure, but he’d be complaining about it for days, and she would not be having that.

It was the best shot they had, though. It might be a rare insect, after all. The bugs out here were wild and unknown, and likely behaved different to the ones back home. Even if they couldn’t keep it, it would be worth testing their skills for when they go up against the big Ragworm himself. It might even win a prize! Then again, they’d be kicked out if they came back with a regular bug.

Having come to her conclusion, Pinpin nodded, but motioned an aura of caution. Tatterbat grasped the net tightly, and slowly tiptoed his way over to the boulder. As he got closer, Pinpin heard a high-pitched whine coming from the other end, but nothing emerged. Tatterbat paused at the sound, looking back at Pinpin with a nervous expression. In response, she grabbed her own net and headed for the other side. If they were going to do this, they might as well do it together. It was time to utilize one of their techniques, commonly known as a pincer trap. If they both jumped at the same time, the creature would have nowhere to run.

She felt the cotton in her harden with fear, every inch of her regretting the choice she was making. When she was level with Tatterbat, the two walked in tandem, syncing their steps until they reached the boulder. The creature was only a short distance away. Tatterbat mouthed a countdown to Pinpin.

“Three… two…. One….” He spoke silently, miming his words.

There was a brief pause as Tatterbat gulped. He exhaled to calm himself, then looked at Pinpin once more.

“Now.”

Synchronised, the two of them leapt behind the rock and swiped down. They expected the creature to attempt to flee, or even get itself caught, but instead, it did something unexpected. A white shape threw itself out the way, and jumped toward Pinpin. She screamed in shock as the thing latched itself onto her arm.

It went toward me?!Pinpin panicked. Animals leaping toward their attacker was almost unheard of. What was this creature?! She barely had time to think as the white animal clamped down on her arm.

“AAAAAAHHHH!” she yelled in shock. “Get it off, get it off!, GET IT OFF!”

She bounced around, throwing her arm in all directions, but to no avail. The animal on her arm - which seemed to resemble a simple sock more than a living creature - was simply not letting go. It held on with a powerful, toothless, grip, with two lifeless button eyes staring at her. She could barely believe it. Attacked by a sentient sock! Pinpin danced from foot to foot, arm going in every direction possible as she tried to loosen the thing’s grip.

“It’s a soc-soc snake!” Tatterbat exclaimed with worry. “Oh this is bad, those things are never good news!”

“What do I do? It’s not letting go!” Pinpin shouted.

“Hold on! I’ll pull it off of you!”

Pinpin briefly paused to offer up her arm, and in that moment Tatterbat grabbed the soc-soc by the free end and pulled as hard as he could, until he could feel the fabric stretch.

“Get off you threaded fiend!” he tugged and tugged, but it only served to make the snake bite down harder. If Pinpin wasn’t full of stuffing and cotton, something would’ve definitely broken by now. Tatterbat pulled back with all his strength, but at that moment lost his grip, and went flying backward.

“It didn’t work. He’s just biting down harder!” Pinpin panicked, smacking her arm against the boulder. Would it ever come off? Nightmares of the soc-soc being attached to her arm as she grew older ran through her mind. There had to be a way to get it off. Think, Pinpin, think! She yelled at herself. What am I missing?

She looked at the soc-soc snake, which was wriggling it’s back end in the air as it flailed about. She tried to piece together the information, to remember something someone had told her before. Nothing was coming to her. She had to rely on her own wits.

Calm down. She thought to herself. How could she be calm? There was a sock attacking her arm! You’re forgetting something. She knew that, but what? She stared at the soc-soc as she waved her arm about, trying to think of anything that would make sense. How do you defeat a sock?

A sock…

At that moment, an idea formed. A crazy, nonsensical idea, but one that was so simple, so plain that it might just work. There was no time to lose. She only had a few attempts before the soc-soc realised what she was up to.

Pinpin held her arm still. It took all her strength not to panic, but she held it out straight in front of her. The soc-soc continued to wriggle around, flailing its loose end in the air. It growled at her, wanting her to move some more. The snake bit down even harder, causing Pinpin to wince, but she didn’t move. That was it. She knew she had it beaten. At that point, with the knowledge known, Pinpin thrust her free hand into the loose end of the soc-soc, sticking it all the way up like a puppet.

Instantly, the creature went limp. Pinpin wrenched her arm away, keeping it as far from the soc-soc as possible. Her other hand was all the way up now, and she turned it round to face her. She looked at the snake, and it stared back with glossy, button eyes. It barely moved at all, and if not for occasional twitching, Pinpin could’ve mistaken it for any regular sock puppet. It seemed so harmless now. The soc-soc wasn’t even making a growl.

Suddenly, Pinpin realised something. Even if it was just a sock, it was a living creature, and she had just gone and stuck her arm up the entire thing. The truth of what she had just done lit up in her brain. That was gross. Really, really, gross.

“Ew!” she retched, shaking her hand until the animal was flung off and thwacked against the nearby rock. It fell to the floor with a thump, and lifted it up its head wearily, shifting its gaze between her and Tatterbat. Pinpin held her hand as if it had just been through something horrible, stroking it and holding it close to her chest.

“Woah, what was that?” Tatterbat bent down, getting a close look. He poked a finger towards the stunned snake, and the soc-soc snapped at it instinctively, though it didn’t latch on like before. “Did you have one of your crazy ideas again?”

Pinpin was not amused. She stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted expression. “Gross! That felt disgusting. I think I might hurl up some fluff.”

Tatterbat smirked, acting like the entire event just didn’t happen. “Can we keep it? It’s so cool.”

“No!” Pinpin jumped. “That thing attacked me! It snapped at you! I stuck my hand up it! I don’t want to be reminded of that ever.”

“Aww come on…”

“Blegh. No way. It’s gonna take a lot of snacks to get that sensation out of my head.”

Tatterbat frowned. “Humph, fine.” He walked away for a second, and rummaged through Pinpin’s bag.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Pinpin asked.

“Just grabbing something, hold on.” Tatterbat replied. “A ha!”

He reached out of the bag, and in his hand was the camera. He shot a grin at Pinpin, and motioned toward the soc-soc that lay dazed on the floor.

“Take a picture of me with it.”

“What, Why?” Pinpin objected. “That camera is only for when we get to Ragworm Woods. We can’t waste slots.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of space on it, I just checked. I just think he looks neat. Yarnfell won’t mind, I’m sure.” Tatterbat said. “Please?”

Pinpin sighed. She looked at the snake. Lying still, it did seem rather harmless. “You know, it’s sorta cute when it’s not violently attaching itself to my arm.”

“Yes!!” Tatterbat punched the air in a pre-emptive victory. He thrusted the camera toward her, and dashed toward the boulder where the soc-soc sat beneath.

Tatterbat crouched by the soc-soc, which still seemed very dazed by the smack against the rock. He squatted and faced Pinpin, holding up peace signs as she held the camera box in front of her.

“Wait a second. How do you-”

She pressed a button. A light flashed in her face, and she dropped the camera in a dizzy spell. Wrong way.

“Well, at least we know how to actually take pictures now.” she said. She picked the box off the floor and - holding it the right way this time - pressed the button again, taking a snap of Tatterbat and the soc-soc. When the flash went off, the snake made a noise and flipped over, now lying even more still than before. Holding his net, Tatterbat leaned over and poked it in the face.

“Uh.” he said. “Did you kill it?”

The soc-soc twitched, answering the question for them. It wriggled for a while, attempting to right itself. Tatterbat tried to give it a nudge, but that only caused it to snap at him and get even more fuddled. The two could only watch as it lay on its back, rolling left and right as it tried to get on its belly.

With one mighty roll, it righted itself. Taking a last look at its two assaulters, the soc-soc whined judgingly, and slithered away into the distance. It hid itself in a small dip in the valley, and remained there, occasionally poking its head over the top to see if the two patchwork people had left.

“I think we annoyed the poor thing.” Pinpin said, watching the entire scenario play out. She picked up her net and shrugged. “ Can’t say it doesn’t deserve it, though. That’s what you get for messing with a Bug Master.”

“Yeah! Don’t mess with the best. That’s my motto.” Tatterbat said.

“At least that debacle is over. Makes me glad I don’t normally wear socks.”

“Me neither. Are all socks like that?” Tatterbat asked, looking at his feet with a suspicious glare.

“I don’t know. Better play it safe. It’s bare feet or shoes from now on.” Pinpin shrugged.

The two grabbed their nets and began to walk off. They look one last look at the soc-soc, which was still glaring at them from a distance. Facing ahead, the pavement was strewn with hundreds of rocks, much more than they had passed at the start. The path was blocked off, with a more complex route that seemed to resemble a maze more than a road, and was a far cry from the more simplistic section they’d been blessed with at the start.

“Man that looks rough.” Tatterbat exclaimed. “At least there’s no more soc-socs around.”

Pinpin didn’t reply. She wasn’t looking at the rock maze. Her eyes were planted just above, peering at the cliff tops, where more boulders were precariously placed. But that wasn’t why she couldn’t speak. What caused her to freeze up were the hundreds of tiny shapes next to them, each one a soc-soc snake, their eyes locking with Pinpin’s as they moved the boulders closer and closer to the edge.