A/N: Looks like you guys are enjoying this story already! I'm so glad! To answer a question from reviews:
I'mafanofFANFICTIONS – I won't really be mentioning eggs or pods, so I'll leave it to reader's decision.
Yes, you may get some MLP vibes, and there will be some dark twists, as to be expected from my kinds of stories. For now, enjoy this adorable fluff of a chapter!
Chapter Two – First Impressions
"We brought juice!" Tambora and Marimba announced.
"We brought apple strudel!" Hickory announced.
"Do you ever bring normal treats?" Chaz asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Technically, their desserts just have funny names." Baby Bun shrugged.
"The kids should be here any minute." Wani said. "Everyone ready?"
"Don't worry too much." Branch said as he approached them. "The kids will be getting your input today, and then you'll join the rotation of trolls keeping an eye on the kids while they work."
The troll leaders soon arrived with all the kids. After a few exchanged pleasantries, Branch announced the time for introductions.
"This is Clampers." Delta Dawn pulled the blue-grey troll from her red mane, holding the child by her fiery orange hair. Clampers brushed off her overalls and rubbed the dirt off her face to show off her freckled cheeks and yellow-green nose. "She's the princess of the Country Trolls, next in line for the throne."
Trollex gestured to the green Techno Troll with blue hair and pink heart. "This is Coral Blush. His parents are really good friends of mine."
"His freckles are all blocky." CJ whispered to Poppy.
"And yours are all glittery." Poppy whispered back. She spoke up to the leaders. "This here is CJ Suki. She's the niece of my very good friend, DJ Suki." CJ waved, making sure her dreadlocked hair was tied up properly.
"This is Ozzy. He's Riff's baby brother." Barb pushed the little Rock Troll forward. He had purple-grey skin, a black nose, and a thick, wild mane of black hair. His eyes were a ruby-bronze color, and he dressed in tattered black shorts, a dirty white shirt, and a denim vest.
"Come, young one." Trollzart encouraged the small Classical Troll to flutter forward. She had the glittery golden skin and dainty wings of a typical Classical Troll, and her fluffy hair was pastel blue, a similar hue to her sky-colored eyes. Trollzart proudly introduced her. "This is Cadence, one of the star pupils in our music classes."
"Guess that just leaves us." Essence said. "This is Blue, from the Funk Trolls."
"Hi." Blue waved. He walked on all fours. Very true to his name, he was entirely blue: indigo fur and yarn-like hair, light blue stripes on his neck, cerulean skin, and azure eyes.
"Welcome, kids!" Branch said. "You're here to be the design team for a new sculpture that will represent Music Central. The kings and queens of the trolls will work out the construction of the sculpture, but you guys need to tell us what it should look like. Now, you have free range to design it any way you want. But there is one criteria: the sculpture must include inspiration from all the music genres, including the Minor Genre trolls. You'll have the entire week to talk and decide on a design. For today, the Minor Genres are going to lead you through some icebreakers."
Clampers raised her hand. "How do we break the ice? 'Cause Aunt Delta says chewing on it is bad for my teeth."
"No, no." Wani giggled. "We're just going to play some games that will help you guys get to know each other better."
"We'll leave you guys to it." Quincy said.
Barb snuck over to Hickory and Dickory. "Hey, guys?" She whispered. "Can you keep an eye on Ozzy? I promised Riff that he wouldn't get bullied by the other kids."
"Why would the other kids bully him?" Dickory whispered back.
"Because he's a Rock Troll? And I'm a Rock Troll?" Barb rubbed the back of her head. "And I don't want my people to suffer from my mistake."
"No worries, Queen Barb." Hickory assured. "I think we're past the phase of being mad at the Rock Trolls, especially you. But, if it would make you feel better, we'll keep an eye on the little kinder."
"Thanks, guys." Barb sighed in relief. "I appreciate it." She jogged off with the other leaders.
"Okay, guys!" Wani said to the kids. "The first icebreaker game is called Two Truths and A Lie. You tell everyone else two things that are true and one thing that is a lie about yourself. We have to guess which is the lie!"
The kids sat in a circle. They kept exchanging looks, each one sizing up the other and trying to get a first impression on looks alone.
Coral Blush went first. He thought for a moment. "Okay, here I go: my favorite food is kelp cakes, my hair is naturally curly, and I once broke my fin doing front flips."
The kids stared at him, trying to determine if that single hair curl was natural or if that tail looked crooked from a former break.
"I think the kelp cakes thing is a lie." CJ said. "No way can cakes made of kelp taste good."
"Nah, I think it's the fin break." Blue said.
"Nope!" Coral Blush said proudly. "It's the hair!"
"Wait, so that one hair doesn't curl like that on its own?" Clampers asked.
"No, I borrowed one of Mom's curlers to see what it would do to my hair. I liked it so much I kept doing it." Coral Blush explained.
"Does that mean you really eat kelp?" Blue grimaced.
"Most underwater trolls do." Coral Blush pulled out his lunchbox and opened it to show everyone the cakes inside which, indeed, were made of kelp and sponge cake. He passed it out to everyone, who tentatively tried it. Only Ozzy and Cadence enjoyed the cakes. Blue's face turned as green as the cake itself.
"Me next! Me next!" Clampers raised her hand. "Let's see. Oh, I know! I can play three instruments, I once got a tumbleweed tangled in my hair, and I don't own a single dress."
"I believe the last two. I'm going to say you can play more than three instruments." Ozzy guessed.
"Nope!" Clampers shook her head with a proud smile. "I can only play the jaw harp, banjo, and drums. I did get a tumbleweed tangled in my hair, which is why I braid it. The lie was the dress. I have just one that Aunt Delta made me for special occasions."
"I think you'd look pretty in a dress." Cadence said.
"Yeah, but it's hard to run in them." Clampers shrugged. "What about you?"
Cadence thought for a moment. "I can play any Beethoven song by heart, I have a birthmark shaped like a music note, and my favorite food is cherries."
"I bet the least interesting one is the lie." CJ said. "You don't like cherries at all, do you?"
"I'm actually allergic to them." Cadence said. "My birthmark is kind of hidden by my hair." She pulled some of her hair away from behind her ear, and the kids did see a brown spot shaped like a music note.
CJ, Ozzy, and Blue took their turns. CJ said she wanted to be like her Aunt DJ when she grew up, and she made her first mixtape when she was only four. Ozzy apparently lost a tooth in a jam session with his friends, and he has a pet bat at home who steals his hair for its nest. Blue once won an award for best dancer, and he got stuck in a tuba when he was a toddler.
"Next activity!" Dickory announced.
"You're going to share a part of your culture by making something we're going to eat for lunch." Hickory explained. "We'll help you with prep and cooking. Just pick a food you eat back home, and we'll share it with everyone."
Everyone got to work. Halfway through her baking, Cadence noticed Blue bumping into things and putting his face very close to his workspace. Curious, she fluttered over to him.
"Blue, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Cooking." Blue said simply.
"But you're so close to everything. And I watched you run into the oven three times already." Cadence pointed out.
"She's got a point, kid." Tresillo said.
Blue sighed. "My eyesight isn't great. I have glasses, but they're really lame."
"Do you have them with you?" Cadence asked. Blue took out a pair of round blue frames and put them on, which made his eyes appear almost twice their normal size. "I think they look nice. If you want, I can make them look nicer."
"How?" Blue asked, handing the spectacles to Cadence.
"One moment, please." Cadence pulled a paint set and brush from her hair. In a flash, she painted a rainbow of polka dots on the spectacle frames and briefly held them to the warm oven to dry faster. "See? Nothing a bit of art can't fix."
"Wow, these look cool!" Blue put on the glasses. "Hey, we should do this with my backup glasses, too."
"Okay, but only if you teach me some of those funky dance moves your people do." Cadence requested.
"I'm not sure how we'll translate my four legs to your two legs and two arms, but we'll figure it out!" Blue promised.
The kids and Minor Genre trolls gathered on a large picnic blanket to exchange their creations. Blue received several compliments on his glasses.
"I made chili!" Clampers announced. "It's usually a lot hotter than this, but Mr. Hickory said our normal level of hot would burn your tongues off."
"Speaking from experience." Hickory shrugged. "I couldn't taste right for a week."
"I promise, no more kelp cakes." Coral Blush passed out the little plates of food. "This is called sushi."
"I made cupcakes. A Pop Troll specialty." CJ said. "I even decorated the tops for each of us! There's a fish for Coral Blush, a cowboy hat for Clampers, a cello for Cadence, a rock guitar for Ozzy, a wooferbug for me, and a record for Blue!"
"This is rock candy." Ozzy said. "Don't worry, they aren't actual rocks. It's mostly sugar. Kind of like cotton candy, but harder."
"I made you all scones and tea." Cadence said. "Afternoon tea is a favorite pastime of the Classical Trolls."
"I made berry smoothies." Blue said. "It's like a milkshake, but healthier!"
"The tea is a bit bitter." CJ said.
"Add some milk and sugar." Cadence suggested.
"I like it plain." Ozzy said, gulping down the black tea. "And this chili is awesome! Someday, I want to try the spicier version."
"If you think you can handle it." Clampers laughed.
Marimba scooted closer to Gomdori. "I think this is going pretty well."
"They really are just so sweet." Gomdori agreed. "Who's next for games?"
"Chaz. He said something about a friendly competition?" Marimba answered.
"Let's hope it involves less music from him." Gomdori said. "I have nothing against smooth jazz, but his magic saxophone caused some pretty freaky hallucinations the last time I had to listen to it."
"Don't act like you don't enjoy it." Chaz said, floating above the girls. "And relax, babies. Children don't hallucinate when I play. They just fall asleep and have pleasant dreams."
After lunch, Chaz divided the kids into two teams: Clampers, Cadence, and Blue versus Coral Blush, CJ, ad Ozzy.
"How is playing soccer going to help us get to know each other?" CJ asked.
"You need to prove you remember each other's names, since you must call out to the player to whom you pass the ball." Chaz explained. "This is meant to promote teamwork and a healthy sense of competition."
While Chaz's reasoning was sound and the plan did seem to work, it all came to a screeching halt when Clampers kicked the ball, and then Ozzy hit it off his head, and then the ball smashed into Coral Blush's mouth and knocked out a tooth.
"I'm really sorry!" Ozzy said while Dickory helped stuff a bit of gauze into the bleeding gum.
"No, I'm sorry!" Clampers said. "I shouldn't have kicked it so hard."
"No way!" Coral Blush said, using his tongue to keep the gauze in place. "That was awesome! And now I can leave my tooth for the Tooth Shark!"
"The what?" CJ asked.
"You mean the Tooth Fairy." Cadence guessed.
"No, the Tooth Shark." Coral Blush explained. "She's a magical shark who takes our baby teeth and adds them to her own mouth as her teeth fall out. In exchange, she leaves us little beads we can make into necklaces and bracelets that we wear to parties." Coral Blush looked to his fallen tooth, now in his hand. "I wonder if I need to put it under a pillow back in Techno Reef, or if she'll still visit me while I'm here in Music Central."
"I think we should move on to our game." Tresillo suggested. "It's almost time for the kids to be picked up, anyway."
The kids collectively groaned. "But we're having fun!" CJ said.
"You'll be seeing each other every day for a week." Tambora reminded them. "And we all live in the same place."
"This is a really easy icebreaker game." Marimba herded the kids into a circle and placed a bag in the middle of them. "Pull out a candy from the bag. Each candy has a question attached to it. Everyone has to answer the question, and you can build a conversation from it."
"You go first, Coral Blush." Ozzy offered.
Coral Blush pulled a lollipop from the bag. "'If you could do a duet with anyone in the world, who would it be?' Oh, that's easy! King Trollex!"
"I'd love to do a dance duet with Prince D and Prince Cooper." Blue agreed.
"My aunt is the best duet for me." CJ said. "She taught me everything I know! Though, it would be pretty cool to have a duet with the kings and queens, huh?"
"I think so, but King Trollzart does a lot more conducting than playing." Cadence said. "If I ever got the chance, I would want to duet with one of the Rock Trolls. I've been thinking about what classical and rock would sound like together."
"Maybe my brother can help with that." Ozzy offered. "He's an awesome drummer, and my go-to for duets."
"I want to duet with Mr. Hickory and Mr. Dickory!" Clampers said. "Can we sometime? Please?"
"Now that sounds like fun." Hickory agreed.
"Next question!" Blue reached into the bag. "'What's your favorite instrument?' Tuba."
"I like the violin." Cadence said.
"I like my jaw harp the best." Clampers said.
"Electric guitar for me." Ozzy said.
"We usually use deejay sets for our music." Coral Blush said.
"Like a wooferbug?" CJ clarified. "That's my favorite!"
"What's a wooferbug?" Coral Blush asked.
"It's kind of like a walking deejay set." CJ whistled loudly, and a large, furry beetle creature burst from the brush. "This is my wooferbug. I play music on her! Watch!" CJ scurried up the side of the bug and played some music from the turntables on top.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Coral Blush gasped. "I bet King Trollex and your aunt would be good friends!"
"Do another one!" Ozzy bounced in his seat. "Do another one!"
"'Which Minor Genre is your favorite?'" Clampers read in a quizzical tone. The kids looked to the adults.
"We got a running bet going." Chaz shrugged.
"I like the Yodelers." Clampers said. "They troll-sit me all the time."
"I guess I'm partial to jazz." Cadence said.
"Reggaeton." Blue said.
"K-Pop Gang, all the way." CJ said.
"I like all of you." Coral Blush said.
"I like rock the best." Ozzy said.
"So much for that bet." Dickory scoffed.
After much laughter, the game continued. Eventually, the kids deviated away from the candy questions and started just talking about each other. Any unease they might have felt at the start of the day long since vanished. Whether by fate or wisdom, the troll leaders had chosen a group of extraordinarily kind children who were eager to befriend each other.
In fact, when the adults came by to pick up their children, it took a bit of coaxing to get them to temporarily part ways.
"I'm going to bring my spare specs tomorrow." Blue told Cadence. "Can you paint those, too? I'll give you some of my candy stash in exchange."
"How about I show you how to paint on such a small surface?" Cadence offered. "And you can teach me how to rope plait my hair like you do."
"Deal!" Blue nodded.
"Hug Time!" CJ hugged Clampers with one arm and Coral Blush with the other.
"I like you." Clampers said.
"Can your wooferbug come tomorrow, too?" Coral Blush requested.
"She comes when I call, so yeah!" CJ agreed.
"Hey Big Brother!" Ozzy jumped and did a cannonball into Riff's arms.
"Hey, Little Man." Riff hugged his brother. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah! These guys are so cool!" Ozzy said.
"Good. I'm glad." Riff looked to the Yodelers and silently mouthed, "Thank you."
"Okay, kids!" Branch spoke up so he had the littles' attention. "For the next week, you'll be working together and with the Minor Genre trolls to design the Music Central sculpture. The Reggaeton Trolls are going over to Techno Reef near the end of the week for a concert, so remember their input! For now, go home and get some rest. The real work begins tomorrow!" The kids bid each other goodbye as they returned with their families.
"I think this is a great idea, Branch." Hickory said. "Those kids really get along great."
"That's good. Encouraging friendship in the next generation will help promote peace and friendship in the future." Branch said. "By the way, can you and your brother help me with something?"
"At your service, Herr Future King!" Dickory saluted.
"Okay, okay, I told you to stop calling me that." Branch rolled his eyes with a grin. "I just want to test out some of the defense systems I have planned. We may be at peace, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared for whatever's out there."
"We got your back." Hickory nodded.
Branch watched the kids leave. "I can't wait to see what these kids come up with."