Patchwork People

Nothing. Several hours had passed since Pinpin and Tatterbat had spread out, and she’d found nothing of value. Her bug box was full, of course, but they were common insects; Yarn Beetles, Stringsnakes, and Knitterbugs. While not awful, they weren’t competition winners. Their colours were too dull, and sizes too small. None of them screamed ’“FIRST PRIZE”, and overall she was feeling exhausted. Even worse, she was still getting the feeling she was being watched. Many times she heard a snap, or saw a glint of metal between the trees, but when she went to take a closer look, there was nothing there.

She slumped down by a tree to take a rest, closing her eyes to let her other senses take charge. Her ears pricked as she listened out for the telltale calls of the insect world - any sort of buzz, ring, or chirp. Unfortunately, only the sound of rustling leaves greeted her. There was no luck today, it seemed. Not in this area of the plains.

Sighing, Pinpin dug into the snack pouch. She was already a bit plump, but there was nothing that could beat the blues more than a bit of food. Besides, she was bound to lose the excess fluff during this competition. One more sugarstuff wouldn’t hurt.

As she was about to chow down, Pinpin heard a noise. It sounded like incoherent yelling, and was coming from within the undergrowth. She frowned and put the snack away. Even if she couldn’t understand it, she recognised the tone. It had to be Tatterbat. And he was angry.

Getting up, Pinpin wandered into the woods, interested to see just what her friend was so worked up about. As she got closer, she realised that his voice wasn’t the only one there. A second, higher voice was present, shouting with just as much aggression. Oh no, she thought to herself, He’s got himself in trouble again.

Stepping through some foliage, the voices became more clear, and while she couldn’t see them just yet, Pinpin could hear what they were saying.

“Get off, that one’s mine!” yelled the sound of Tatterbat.

“I found it first, it belongs to me!” came the second voice. It sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“You stalker! That’s my prize!”

“My net’s the one on it!”

Pinpin quickened her pace, hearing the voices get louder as tensions reached a maximum level. She burst through the bushes, and was met with Tatterbat, whose face was pushed up against that of Needly, angled to avoid the sharp needle nose that was embedded in his face. Needly himself seemed just as angry, his overly-large eyes scowling at his nemesis as they locked gazes. Both of them were snarling at each other.

To the side of them, both of their nets were overlaid on the floor. A large insect seemed to be trapped underneath.

“What's going on?” Pinpin asked, attempting to break up the fight before it started.

The two ignored her, and continued to push against each other.

“Get away, Sneezely.” Tatterbat growled, his normal smile curled into a grimace.

“Make me. That bug is mine.” Needly pushed him back.

“You followed us here. You just wanted to steal our bugs!” accused Tatterbat.

“Just because you picked a stupid spot doesn’t mean I’m following.” Needly scowled. He leaned back and crossed his arms in defence.

“Break it up!” Pinpin yelled, shoving herself between the two. Tatterbat stumbled back. She held out both her arms, preventing them from getting anywhere near each other. “What happened here?”

“Your friend is a liar, that’s what.” Needly scoffed. Pinpin threw daggers at him with her eyes, and he stepped back.

“He followed us, Pinpin.” Tatterbat said. “I found this super good bug, and had been stalking it for a while. But Needly was watching, and he swiped it - right as I was about to capture it. He’s a cheat!”

Pinpin sighed. Those were dirty tactics, but they sounded just like someone she knew. She turned to Tatterbat with a knowing, weak smile.

Tatterbat caught her exhale. “It’s different from before! That was nothing, this is a competition! He can’t do this.”

“It’s not against the rules!” Needly spoke up.

“Yes it is, thats stealing!”

“You can’t steal what you haven’t caught. Maybe you and your friend should speed up next time.”

Pinpin closed her eyes and tried to think of a way out of it. If things continued in this way, things could get hairy, and Tatterbat really didn’t need any more of his seams broken. Unfortunately, that meant only one option. She opened her mouth to speak, ill over what she was about to say.

“He’s right, Tatterbat.”

“You’re siding with him?”

“I’m trying to stop stuffing being spilled. We got plenty more time to get something better, right?”

“I suppose, but it was meant to be mine!”

“Come on, Tatterbat, lets go.” she said. There would be no end to this fight if they continued here. “He got to it first, it’s his.”

It pained her to say it, but Needly was the sort of doll that wouldn’t let something like this slide. Better to have him get his shallow victory than have him pester them for seven days.

“But-” Tatterbat began to object.

“Come on, I found a much better bug nest just down there.” she said.

Tatterbat paused for a moment, and sighed. He admitted defeat. “Don’t follow us again.”

Needly turned his nose up at the sky. “As if I need to hear that from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Leave it.” Pinpin said, before the atmosphere got any more violent.

Dejected, Tatterbat walked over to the nets and lifted his own over his shoulder. Taking one last look at Needly, who appeared very smug, he went over to Pinpin and bopped her on the shoulder. The two walked away into the woods, leaving Needly behind.

“I hope he doesn’t appear again.” Pinpin said, shuddering. “One encounter with him is enough.”

“He won’t.” Tatterbat replied, fists clenched. “He’s got a good one now.”

“Oh? What?”

“A silver-spotted stitchhopper, that’s what.”

Pinpin gasped. Stitchhoppers were exceedingly scarce in these parts, no matter the kind. She began to worry that perhaps she’d made the wrong choice. With that, it was very likely that Needly could win on Day One.

“Do you think he knows what he has?” Pinpin asked

“It’s just so unfair!” Tatterbat ignored her, and slapped his mitten to his forehead. The anger was starting to swell again. “That was going to be our bug!”

Guilt started to grow within Pinpin. Maybe she was too hasty in breaking up the fight. Tatterbat could’ve come out on top if she’d left them alone. She stayed quiet, dwelling in her thoughts as they walked aimlessly through the bushes.

After some time, they reached the edge of the undergrowth. Pinpin stepped out into the sunlight, stretching her limbs as they entered the open. She looked around the place.

“Hey look,” she said to Tatterbat, who came out behind her. “We’re right by the hut.”

The hut was standing near to them, looking as non-inviting as ever.

“I’m gonna head inside for a bit. You gonna come?” Pinpin asked

“Nah.” Tatterbat said. “I’m gonna... do some more hunting, I think. Maybe there’s a second stitchhopper round here somewhere.”

Pinpin held her breath for a second.

“I’m sorry for that.” she hung her head low.

“Don’t be.” Tatterbat replied, his signature grin returning to his face. “You were right, really. He’d be on our backends all week if you’d said anything else. Can you imagine a whole week of Needly?”

Pinpin dreaded the thought. “Oh, stitches no!” she made a face of disgust.

“Ha!” Tatterbat laughed and looked at her bug box. “You got some nice ones there, you’ve earned a rest.”

“Oh, they’re not so good.”

“More bugs than me! Though I’m not counting this for our own scoreboard.”

Pinpin laughed, and headed inside. “Good luck, I’ll be back out in an hour or so.”

Tatterbat gave a small salute and headed off. When he was out of sight, Pinpin shut the door and ventured into the hut. She deposited her findings among the rest, and had a look at their collection of bugs, filling up their food bowls with leaves and dirt that she’d picked up along the way. After everyone had been fed, she went over to the back end and sat, finally able to eat a snack from her food pouch.

As she sat there eating, she thought about the competition. Not many bugs could best a Silver spotted Stitchhopper. She could only think of a few, and none of those were easy to find. Carpet Moths might work, but they were nocturnal only. She placed a hand on her chin, pondering hard.

Cushionees were too far underground to find, so they were out of the question too. For a moment, she considered using one of the bugs already in the hut, but she cast that aside. That would be cheating. One option kept coming to her, however; an option she repeatedly threw out, only for it to barge its way back in.

Ragworm.

It was a stupid idea, an impossible thought. It was a bug hundred times more hidden than any other bug, and apparently much larger. Catching a bug so hidden only a few people alive had seen it? It was an idea so insane Pinpin smacked her head to get it out, but it latched there, and she found herself hooked. Even though it was far out, way beyond the Rugtorn Cliffs. It went against every rule she’d made, but still she questioned herself. What if she found it?

The sun shot through the window, blinding her and bringing Pinpin back to reality. She groaned, and stood up.

“Time to go back out,” she said to noone in particular. Grabbing her net, she left the hut behind and reentered the thick undergrowth, hoping the hunt would give her back her common sense.

The next hour was mostly uneventful. Pinpin waded through the thickets, catching whatever she could in her small net, but nothing outstanding showed up. It was average bug after average bug. She had to admit she was getting a little annoyed, and she pouted as the next standard Yarn Beetle rolled its ball of threads along the ground.

Dejected, Pinpin was about to turn and head off to find Tatterbat, when a shout came from nearby and a figure rushed from the bushes.

Pinpin screamed in shock and tensed up as the panicked figure of Needly came running toward her. As he reached her, breathless, he hounded her with the same question over and over.

“Where is it?” he gasped, looking around with a mixture of anger and fear on his face.

“Where’s what?” Pinpin asked, recovering herself from the sudden arrival.

“The bug! The silver bug I caught!” Needly attempted to grab her, but she backed off at the last second. “It’s missing from the box!”

A silent cheer played in Pinpin’s head. It took all her mental strength to not smirk, and she tried to act normal, at least until he left.

“You should’ve been more careful Needly. How did it happen?”

“I had it behind me on a rock. I turned away from it for a second when I heard a noise, and when I looked back, the box was open and the insect was-” Needly paused. After a second,he squinted his eyes and looked at Pinpin, quizzically.

“Where’s Tatter?”

“I don’t know. We split up a while back.”

Needly continued to stare, and pushed his glasses into his face, magnifying his pupils. He scowled, and thrust his fist into his other palm.

“It was him! That no good CHEAT stole it from me!”

Needly jumped up and down in fury. It was making Pinpin nervous, and so she tried to calm him down. She knew what he could be like when he got mad.

“Hey now, I’m sure it wasn’t-”

“You won’t hear the end of this!” Needly pointed an accusing finger at her. “I’ll get you kicked from this competition. You crossed with the wrong guy. Both of you!”

“But I haven’t done anything!”

“Don’t play games with me. I will have my revenge.”

“Stop it, Needly! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

“You won’t beat me again! Your underhanded tactics have failed you this time.”

He ran off into the trees, yelling illegibly. Pinpin stood there in shock, trying to process what just happened. Had Tatterbat really stolen something? Surely not. It was against the rules. Despite that, she couldn’t put it past him. Tatterbat was one to let his emotions rule him, after all. And what Needly said, about getting them kicked - could he do that? Yarnfell did mention the clause about stealing, but surely Tatterbat was innocent. There was no proof anyway.

Pinpin took a moment to compose herself. As she stood there, Tatterbat emerged from the bushes, grinning.

“Hey Pinpin!” he said, gleefully.

Pinpin looked at him. He seemed much more happier than before, with a massive smirk on his face and a spring in his step. She failed to meet his enthusiasm.

“Um, Needly just came through here.” Pinpin said, “He seemed very - uh - worked up. You didn’t steal anything from him, did you?”

Tatterbat rubbed the back of his head. “Me? Never. I didn’t take a thing,”

Pinpin could see right through him. He always rubbed the back of his head when he lied. “You did! You idiot!”

“I didn’t steal!” Tatterbat held an arm out in front of him, and continued rubbing with the other. “I just… tipped his box over, that’s all.”

Pinpin groaned. “No! You absolute cottonbrain. That’s not right.”

“Hey there’s no rule about someone losing a bug. We shouldn’t worry. Needle boy shouldn’t have stolen mine to begin with.”

Pinpin sat down, shivering. They couldn’t be kicked. Not after all the trust Yarnfell had put in them. If he came over, it would be the end. She felt dread fill her to the top.

“Look, Pinpin.” Tatterbat came over. “There’s nothing wrong. We’ll be fine, just watch.”

She squinted at him. “You better be right this time.”

The atmosphere was awkward, with the tension so thin you could cut it like a thread. Tatterbat stood, not daring to come closer to Pinpin, who herself was sitting cross-armed on the floor, half angry, half scared.

The evening sky began to form above them. Noticing this, Pinpin finally broke the ice.

“We better head back. I don’t want to get caught in the dark.”

They headed off, both silent. She felt bad, not talking to Tatterbat, but her friend needed to learn a lesson. As they headed home, she marched onwards, keeping ten steps in front at all times. She couldn’t help but look around at all times, expecting Yarnfell or Needly to be around the next corner and disqualify them there and then. Every shadow and shape was making her jump.

When they reached the settlement with no mishaps, Pinpin almost sighed with relief. Maybe nothing would happen after all. Tatterbat might be right, they technically didn’t steal, so there won’t be any trouble. Right?

Wrong. As she turned to her house, the lanky silhouette of Yarnfell was standing there, waiting. A crow was nested on his shoulder, and he turned to her with a stern expression. Pinpin froze. Her legs couldn’t move. She couldn’t face him, not now. Not after all the faith he’d put in her.

“Come here, lass. We need to talk.”

The words cut her like a knife through stitches. It was over.

Against her will, she closed her eyes tightly, and forced herself to walk.