Wood-ent you know...

Who was the smartypants who went all alone to the park during winter season? Francesco was! Boy he really needed some actual friends to go out with, he was five already he should start socializing.

The puppet hadn’t even bothered bringing a proper coat. His outfit consisted of an awful Rudolph sweater with a nose that actually glowed if you pressed it, and a scarf to look like he actually gave a damn about the freezing cold. Sadly, the pavement was too slippery to use his heelys, so he had to conform with stucking the hem of his leather jeans on a pair of shiny boots. On his head there was a beanie with a quite obnoxious pompom.

He wasn’t used to snow yet. It still felt so new and strange, except when it got between his joints. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, with all those wintery decorations and the huge tree. But everyone had company, except him, shame. Well, it was technically his fault for being a stubborn little puppet who wanted to go out and see the Oceania Park with all its pretty seasonal lights.

All of this internal rambling was interrupted by a villainous laugh, like the ones he had heard from actors at plays so everyone got shocked and paid attention. But this one felt so real he actually froze for a moment, just the surprise, he thought. Francesco’s head turned towards the sound in an angle that shouldn’t be possible for normal people.

“Come out Mr. Giggles!" he yelled at the glowing silhouette. Francesco tried to get a clear view of him by squinting, but he was too far "You tangled yourself in the tree's lights or what?"

Francesco twisted his head back into place and he got closer with long strides; it almost looked like he was hopping. Fortunately, he didn’t slip to his death one the icy floor, but he did stumble once he was close enough to see the stranger’s face clearly, because of that other screech.

“Guess who’s three months later to Halloween, can you only speak crow?” he said once he had regained balance and what little dignity he had left after that almost-fall “I think you drank too many pumpkin spice lattes” Francesco added. He raised one of his eyebrows at his appearance, was it a mask? That eerie glow on his eyes sure made him think it wasn’t.

Since Mr. Giggles didn’t seem to be a very talkative pumpkin, Francesco did the one thing that came to his mind, attempt to touch him and reach for his emotions. The puppet threw his hand at the stranger’s knee, but all he grasped was thin air.

“What the–“ he cursed, eyes open with surprise, well this guy was definitely all things he didn’t usually see. Had it been an illusion? Nah, it couldn’t be. He was magic wood, he couldn’t have hallucinations, right?

Francesco spun on one talon trying to find pumpkin guy again, luckily for him he wasn’t too hard to find. Squinting at the stranger, he tried to throw his power at him from where he was standing. He found no strings on him.

“Huh, weird guy aren’t ya?” Francesco said, tilting his head to the side. That was new, he should have at least found a hint of emotions to grab from that distance, but the scarecrow seemed empty "Can you only speak in crow or what".