The deep dark caverns of Troll Village's heavy metal mines were as dark and cavernous as usual. Nothing much ever changed around there. Day in, day out, more days were alike than they were different. So at times, it could be boring. At least that's how Clay felt about it. A young, orange-eyed, troll in his mid twenties, he treasured the days when something exciting happened. Something as simple as finding a new mineral deposit could liven the day up down in the mine shafts. He could've left the family business to pursue more entertaining things, but whether he stayed out of loyalty to the family business or because he definitely enjoyed it, he couldn't say. Either way, this was his life, and he was alright with that.
For this day however, it particularly seemed to drag out. He'd been tasked with taking out the core samples from a rock wall of interest and recording what he found in them. Core samples were long, heavy cylinders, extracted from the earth. Giving them a picture of what they'd find should they start digging there. The only thing of interest Clay found in the samples was a trace of copper in one of them, but it was hardly enough to start celebrating. Checking the samples almost began to feel like a torture, placed on him by his brother who managed a lot of their father's business.
After Clay pulled the last core from rocky wall, he sat it down and plopped down right beside it. The cores were long and heavy, but it wasn't too difficult for him to move them. He'd been working in the mines since he was old enough to work and all that work built a lot of muscle. As strong as he was though, it still felt like a good time to take a break, meaning he didn't give a rat's ass about the task at hand, not that he actually needed the break. While sitting there, Clay thought again about how much fun he planned to have that night. This was going to be one of the biggest troll parties of the year.
The occasion was Queen Poppy's birthday and the entire troll village was invited for a night of crazy fun. Crazy fun was what Clay was all about. Unlike his, overly serious brother, Clay considered himself to be the fun one in the family. Now if only it didn't feel like time was dragging. It made him wonder if it would be worth it to just leave early. It wasn't as if the cores were going to crawl away. He could always check them tomorrow morning and that personal suggestion had decided it. Clay nodded to himself, with his arms crossed against his chest as he sat there on the hard cave floor.
Suddenly, an even stronger pair of arms than his own, grabbed around him from behind and lifted him back up to his feet. Once released from the grip, he turned around and wasn't surprised at all to see his brother's face. Only Slate ever picked him up like that. His brother looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Slate was a larger man than Clay, sporting a scruffy beard and his hair tied back into a bun. Other than his gray eyes, they were nearly identical in color, with Slate being just slightly darker. "Why are you just sitting around?" He asked in a strong voice that be-fit the troll it came from.
With a roll of his eyes and his arms still crossed, Clay replied, "I'm bored. I wish it was tonight already."
"Bored?" Slate was used to this answer from his younger brother by now, but that didn't mean he was any more okay with it with each time Clay said it. "I don't care if you're bored, this needs done so Dad can decide tomorrow, whether or not to start a new tunnel system here." As he spoke, Slate placed a hand on the rock wall, if only to push his point down Clay's throat.
Clay breathed out heavily. "Is there really no one else that can do this?"
"No. We had too many call-offs today." Slate explained, maintaining his patience with him.
"I guess… But even if I take him the reports today, that doesn't mean he's going to make a decision by tomorrow. You know when Dad says tomorrow, he means next week." Clay groaned.
"And when he says, 'have it to me by the end of the day', he means have it in his hands by the end of the day or tomorrow he'll make you do whatever job he decides, instead of what job I decide. And you know he's not afraid to put us down in the deep tunnels." Slate said immediately after.
Flashbacks of working in the deep tunnels made Clay pause for a moment. The tunnels where workers have to crawl on their knees in the nearly unbearable heat with the constant threat of a cave-in. But as quickly as the fear came on, it subsided as Clay shook his head to escape from it. "Then I guess it's a risk I'm willing to take, since I was just getting ready to leave."
"What?!" Slate snapped. "There's still two hours of work left, at least. I needed you to go help out in the East B tunnel because their productivity has been down the last few days and with all of the call-offs, we're getting to far behind. That's why I came to get you because I assumed you'd at least have the core reports done already."
"Man…" Clay said jokingly, "Those boys in the East tunnels need all the help they can get, am I right?"
"This isn't funny." Slate said as he frowned. "This is work. This is serious."
Clay shrugged. "And it'll get done when it gets done. You can't micromanage everything. Shit happens." Then, looking Slate in the eyes, he said without missing a beat. "I'm leaving."
"Damn it, Clay!" Slate snapped again, grabbing Clay's arm to stop him as he turned to leave. "What am I supposed to tell Dad?"
"Tell him I felt sick or something. It's not like he'll be at the party later to see me. Dad's as much of a workaholic as you. But hey, you better be there. You're tense as fuck, bro." That said, Clay pulled away and went to the cage elevator that lead up to the ground level.
Slate knew there was no stopping Clay unless he tied him up and forced him to stay. But even then, he knew his brother would find a way to slip out of that too. "Yeah, I'll be there later." He said begrudgingly as he watched him leave. Leaving Slate to finish his brother's job, as well as his own.
Their family's mining business was a decent walk away from the village, but Clay was able to make it there in half the time with his flier bug. The party hasn't even started yet, it wasn't even dark and already trolls from all over the village were beginning to gather. From his flier, Clay could see all of the tables full of treats and punch being put out for the early guests. He had no doubt these things wouldn't be in short supply, it was the Queen's birthday afterall. But also, much to his surprise, or lack there-of, there was no alcohol being served. Again, it was to be expected at the Queen's birthday party.
When Clay spotted his friend Maple, he took the flier down and landed abruptly behind his friend, making Maple jump. "Guess who got out of work early?" Clay said more excitedly than usual as he got off the flier. Letting it fly off to be a bug somewhere else for a while.
"Got off early, or just left early?" Maple asked, already knowing the answer and still settling down from the scare that Clay was going to crash into him.
Clay didn't answer, but grinned about the question as he gave his friend a hug. When he let go, he then asked, "So why're you off work so early?"
"I took the day off." Maple replied, pointing at his head. "I planned ahead."
"Pft… There were so many call-offs at the mines this morning, I think Slate was gonna bust a follicle. But it's all good." Muttered Clay before rubbing his hands together and looking around at the slowly growing crowd deviously. "I hope shit gets wild tonight. Lots of girls and killer music."
"More like lots of glitter and pop music." Maple said, shooting his friend's hopes down to reality. "You come to these things expecting too much." It wasn't a secret that Maple was a little concerned about his friend, but he wouldn't do anything to actually hinder Clay's pursuit of a good time.
Just then, with a snap of his fingers, Clay remembered something. "I almost forgot. I wanted to introduce you to this cool guy I met the other night. He said he'd be here tonight. His name is Jiggs."
Maple didn't immediately answer. Instead, thinking about whether or not he wanted to meet someone who met Clay's definition of 'cool'. "I'm not sure…"
"Oh, trust me, you wouldn't regret it. This guy said he has connections. Awesome connections." Clay was playing up the hype. "He told me, he could actually help me meet The Party Queen." He whispered the last part.
Maple was confused, but tried to follow. "Queen Poppy?"
"No." Clay continued to whisper more out of excitement, than actually needing to whisper anything. "I'm talking about Sugar Pop. She's that glitter troll that-"
"She isn't real. Sugar Pop is just an urban legend to scare kids into partying safe." Maple interrupted him.
"And that is where you've fallen for the lies, my friend." Clay said with so much assurance it had Maple concerned again. "I'm gonna find the legend and become the new party god of Troll Village."
It was a moment before Maple responded, making sure he heard his friend right. "Okay..."
As the hours moved along at a much quicker pace, much to Clay's liking, things began to pick up. Clay got to say hi to a bunch of friends as he and Maple moved around the event. The music began to play and as the sun started to set, there were some fireworks. Even a few Bergens made it to celebrate the Queen's birthday, all of them taking special care not to step on anyone. Clay didn't have much interest in Bergen's though. It was the troll he spotted by the punch bowl that grabbed his attention.
A troll with brown hair and tan skin, wearing khakis to match. Clay grabbed Maple's wrist and dragged him in tow as he waved to the troll to get his attention. "Hey! Jiggs! Hey, it's me, Clay!"
Jiggs turned around and waved back to him casually. "Hey! I was wondering when you'd find me. Who's this big guy?" He asked, nodding to Maple.
"This is Maple. He's my best bud." Clay answered, then turned to Maple. "This is Jiggs, that cool dude I told you about earlier."
Maple didn't appreciate being dragged over to someone he'd never met before. He responded to Clay with a nod, but stayed back a bit.
"Quit being so shy, this guy is alright, trust me." Clay said, insistently.
With a deep breath and not wanting to come off as rude, Maple shook Jiggs' hand. "Hi." Attempting to initiate casual conversation, he then asked, "How come I haven't seen you around before?"
Jiggs shrugged, swirling his cup of punch around as he spoke. "I'm a writer for the newspaper, so I don't really get out much. I do the musings columb. That's me." He smiled, obviously pleased with his choice of career.
"A writer?" Maple gave Clay a questioning look. He may not have been the party animal that Clay was, but Maple was fairly certain he knew the definition of the word 'cool'. Jiggs didn't seem to fit it. "This is the guy who knows that mythical party girl, you told me about?"
Clay nodded and then turned his attention to Jiggs. "Do you think we'll get to meet her tonight?"
"Probably? Goldie said she usually hangs out at these things." Jiggs answered and took a drink of punch. He then glanced from his drink, back to them. "I'm sure you're wondering, so I'll tell you, Goldie is my girlfriend, and Sugar Pop…" He leaned in to whisper to them, "...and Sugar Pop is her cousin!"
"Ha! Told you she wasn't just an urban legend." Clay retorted to Maple.
Maple took a step back, giving Clay a very concerned look. "You're more excited tonight than I've ever seen you before. Is this really that big of a deal for you?"
Clay hadn't expected Maple to say that, but taking his friend's words to heart, he could see where he'd been acting a bit more unusual that day. "I guess I'm just chasing a high." He sighed, letting himself settle. "I mean, even if I did meet her, what's the chance she'd talk to me? I'm riding on hope, man."
"She hates me." Jiggs added suddenly with a shrug. Both Clay and Maple looked back at Jiggs, who continued to talk. "When and if you do meet Sugar Pop, she's a bit intense. The only thing she said when Goldie introduced me to her was, 'go away'. I'm not sure what her problem is, but she's definitely a closed book." He smiled, proud of himself for the dumb writer's reference.
"Well that's reassuring…" Clay sighed, hanging his head low, feeling defeated before even having a chance. "Guess that leads me to Plan B." He raised his head back up.
"What's Plan B?" Maple asked, almost not wanting to know.
"Time to hunt down some arm-candy." Clay grinned and proceeded to turn around so he could complete his new quest, but the moment he spun around, he bumped into a girl. "Oh, sorry!" He said out of reflex. It was then he realized it was a beautiful golden glitter troll and his tone quickly changed to became slow and suggestive. "Hey…"
The girl took a step back and just smiled at him. Unimpressed with his speedy attempt at hitting on her. "Hey, to you too. But before you go digging yourself into a grave, you're blocking me from my boyfriend. Who is standing right behind you." Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she wore black leather.
When it clicked in Clay's head that this must be Jigg's girlfriend, he immediately stepped out of her way and apologized. "Sorry…" He felt a little embarrassed.
"You didn't know." Jiggs said, showing he wasn't offended. Goldie greeted Jiggs with a kiss.
Seeing the contrasting pair left Clay wondering how two trolls like them ended up together. "If it's not too weird, do you mind if I ask how you met? You're just so… different."
Goldie was the one to answer this question after her and Jiggs gave each other a half smile. "My life feels like a trainwreck sometimes and I like the sense of stability he gives me."
"Were you rehearsing that answer in your head?" Jiggs asked her with a chuckle. Goldie responded with a giggle as well. As different as they were on the outside, they seemed very in sync on the inside. After sharing their laugh, Jiggs then asked her, "These guys were wondering if you'd introduce them to your cousin? They've heard about the infamous Sugar Pop and need to see the legend for themselves."
"Not me, just him." Maple said immediately, pointing a thumb at Clay. "I'll accept that I was wrong and she does exist, but I'm not interested in meeting her. I'm just here to have a good time, not go thrill hunting."
"I get ya." Clay nodded, respecting his friend's need for a casual party experience.
"Okay." Jiggs said, in response. He didn't care much either way since he'd only just met Maple and he still barely knew Clay. "I guess just Clay wants to meet her." He said to Goldie.
This was when Goldie's happy expression faded and she immediately looked between all of them with troubled eyes. "I don't know… She's been in a mood today. I don't know if I should bother her right now."
Opportunity. Exactly what Clay had been excited for all day. The chance to meet someone who could show him a real party. This was it. "I promise, it would be really quick. I just want to meet her."
Goldie crossed her arms. "If she's still like she was earlier, I don't see how you'll get much out of this? Maybe I could introduce you another time?"
"I'm at work most of the time. This might be my only chance." Clay went on, not easily giving up.
Maple sighed, "Yeah, I definitely ain't getting involved in this dead-end adventure. Good luck, Clay." With just a wave, he left them.
Clay waved to Maple, but his attention was still on Goldie, waiting for her answer.
"I really think you're going to be disappointed." Goldie said heavily, realizing she most likely wouldn't win this fight. It wasn't in her to put up much of a fight anyway. "But… I suppose it would be okay."
"Yes!" Clay exclaimed. "Can I meet her now? Where is she?"
"Just… follow me." Goldie gestured for Clay and Jiggs to follow her into the crowd as she lead them to where she remembered her cousin last being at. At this point, the party was in full swing and literally the entire village was there. It was a solid ten minutes of winding through colorful dancing bodies before they reached the outskirts of the social gathering.
"Wait. Are we leaving the party?" Clay asked, getting confused.
Goldie paused. "Kinda, sorta. Sugar is definitely a background troll-" She stopped and pointed toward a tree. "Nevermind, there she is." Not far from where they were, a magenta colored glitter troll, wearing all leather and sunglasses, leaned against a tree, watching the party from a distance.
This wasn't what Clay expected and he turned to Goldie. "I've seen that person lingering around the village before. You mean, this whole time, that's been…"
"Yeah. That's my cousin, Sugar Pop. The one everyone talks about." Goldie answered, walking again towards the other glitter troll.
"Hey Sugar, you doin' alright?" Goldie asked as they approached her.
Sugar Pop responded to Goldie's voice by glancing in her direction, but immediately turned away when she saw that her cousin had brought friends. "I was fine until you brought him back and apparently a new one." She said under her breath.
"I wish you'd be nicer to him." Goldie replied, taking Jiggs by the hand. "He's good to me."
With no reply to that, Sugar Pop turned her head to Clay.
Clay felt as though she were staring a hole through him. Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he just knew. "U-um… hi. I'm Clay."
Sugar Pop, unexpectedly, got up from the tree and stepped over to Clay, now staring him in the face. "You're related to Slate, aren't you?" She suddenly asked. "A little different… but you two look a lot alike."
"Yeah… He's my older brother." Clay was definitely shocked by this. "How do you know him?"
"I know a lot of people." She answered, then glanced down at his shirt. There was a very long pause, so long it made everyone start to feel awkward that she was just staring into his chest, when suddenly, Sugar Pop burst into laughter. "Miners do it dirty?!" She laughed so hard, she had to lean onto her knees. "What the fuck is that?! Okay, you're funny kid, you're funny." She had to make herself calm down, but that was hard now that Clay was laughing.
"I knew someone would get a kick out of that!" He laughed.
Jiggs and Goldie looked at each other like they'd just seen the sky fall. Goldie hadn't heard her cousin laugh like that in so long, she'd forgotten what Sugar's laugh sounded like. When the shock of what was happening wore off, she smiled. This made her so happy, she hugged Jiggs.
"So you're a miner like your brother then, huh? That explains why you're so fucking dirty." Sugar said, referencing the fact that Clay was obviously covered in dirt stains.
"Miners do it dirty." Clay snarked and both he and Sugar Pop once again burst into laughter.
Their laughter was cut short however by the sound of Slate calling out to Clay to get his attention. Clay looked back and waved his brother over. He thought this was perfect, he'd get to find out exactly how Sugar Pop apparently knew his brother this whole time. Whereas Sugar noticeably tried to duck behind Clay when she saw Slate coming their way. Clay looked at her, then noticed Goldie was trying to duck away as well. It confused him.
When Slate reached them, he immediately lost his smile and frowned at Sugar Pop. "Why are you talking to Clay?" He asked her.
"Bro, what's wrong?" Clay asked, confused by the change in atmosphere. "We were just-"
Goldie quickly stepped over, interrupting him. "Hey Slate, long time no see, but we should probably get going..." She said, taking Sugar's hand, clearly in the midsts of damage-control.
"No, I asked a question." Slate gently moved Goldie out of the way to speak with Sugar. "Why are you talking to my brother, Sugar Pop?" Slate asked again directly and firmly.
Both Clay and Jiggs had to step back, having no idea what sparked this confrontation.
Sugar Pop couldn't bring herself to look at him, but answered submissively, "It's nothing you need to worry about." It was clear to everyone that Slate made her uncomfortable.
"And you didn't tell him anything?" Slate asked. "Right?"
"Why would I tell him anything about that? I just met him. I didn't even know you had a brother." She answered quickly. "Just leave me alone." Sugar Pop turned her back on the situation completely, leaving them and wandering off into the forest, away from the party and people.
Slate watched her go, then turned to Clay who looked at him in utter confusion. "Don't bother with that one, you can do better." He said, assuming Clay was only talking to her to hit on her.
Clay was speechless and it took him a moment to even find the right words to say, but by the time he did, his brother had already left them. So he turned to Goldie who looked upset. "What the hell happened between those two?" He asked.
"Nothing that concerns you." She answered, lowering her head as she walked away from the situation too. Jiggs followed close behind her, wanting to comfort his girlfriend.
"Wow…" Clay muttered, the last one left standing there. With no answers as to why his brother seemed to have some beef with his new friend or even if Sugar Pop was his friend at all after this, he just re-joined the party. Needing its distraction.