Shadgirl2: Sorry this took so long. We were out of town for a few days.
Midna Azusa: And the school year's starting up again, so I've been busy getting ready for that.
Shadgirl2: Anyway, that shouldn't have a huge impact on how often we update this, so don't worry too much about that.
Midna: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls. Fuzzberry belongs to Shadgirl2.
Given Poppy's ideas of what friendship entailed, Creek knew he needed to be more of a team player if he was going to succeed. He started helping the others more so he wouldn't run the risk of getting kicked out of the Snack Pack, as they now called themselves.
One day, on his way to yoga class, Creek heard Biggie calling for help, so he went to see what the problem was. He found Cooper stuck in a log and Biggie standing there looking panicked. This didn't seem like anything too problematic, especially given Creek's training as a doctor and even first-responder. Before resorting to a saw of any sort, though, he decided to try a less risky approach.
Creek hurried to the market nearby and got some butter, then he rubbed it on Cooper's sides where he was stuck. With that done, he took hold of Cooper's legs, readying to pull the giraffe out.
"Alright, Biggie," Creek said. "Cooper's all oiled up, so let's give it our best efforts, mate!"
"Alright! Hold on, Cooper. We'll have you out of here soon!" Biggie said, and he wrapped his arms around Creek's waist.
"Okay, dude!" Cooper said, his voice slightly muffled by the log he'd gotten stuck in.
"Ready, friend?" Creek asked. "On the count of three. One. Two. Three. Pull!"
The two of them pulled as hard as they could, feeling Cooper move slightly. Finally, he popped right out, sending the three of them flying. They landed in a dog pile, Cooper sitting on the other two, who were tangled together. They all grunted as they hit the ground.
After a second, Cooper looked around. "Hey, I'm out!" He hopped off his friends excitedly, smiling. "Wow, that really worked! Thanks, guys!"
"Ugh... Don't mention it, friend," Creek said with a slight smile as he untangled himself from Biggie. "That's what friends are for!"
"Yes, exactly." Biggie turned to Creek, grateful for the help—he'd been trying unsuccessfully to free Cooper up until that point. "And thank you, Creek, for coming to help. I don't think I could have gotten him out of that on my own!"
Creek waved a hand dismissively, his smile turning proud. That actually felt kind of good for a change. "Aw, it was nothing, friend. I'm sure you'd have done the same if the tables were turned."
He did enjoy helping his friends. It felt good to be able to use his new talents for something other than taking care of Poppy and Branch. He'd gotten so occupied with the two of them lately that he hadn't had much time for anything else. His yoga classes were about the only thing he still did—he needed them to maintain his sanity.
Still, with how good it felt to help other trolls, Creek decided to do it more often. Besides the feeling he got out of it, Poppy loved helpful trolls. Being helpful will benefit him while allowing him to continue with his mission from Chef.
A few weeks later, Poppy came to find Creek after Smidge hurt herself during a workout. She took him back to Smidge, where Creek did a quick examination and determined she had sprained her hair a bit. It was minor enough for the apprentice to handle.
As he tended to Smidge, Poppy stood with her hands clenched into fists under her chin, dancing from foot to foot worriedly. "Ooh... Are you about done there, Creek? That head injury looks pretty serious to me!"
Creek had just finished icing the wound and reached into his bag for some bandages and medical tape. He started wrapping Smidge's injury, smiling gently and reassuringly. "Fret not, love. It looks far worse than it really is. Just a minor hair sprain, is all. It's nothing a little rest and ice can't cure, so Smidge will be right as rain in only a few weeks. As long as she takes it easy until then, that is."
Poppy stopped fidgeting, smiling slightly. She seemed relieved. "Well, if you say so. Thanks, Creek. I'm so glad you took lessons on first aid with Dr. Plum! Those skills of yours come in handy a lot!"
Smidge winced a bit in pain but forced a smile as she said, "Y-yeah... Thanks, Dr. Creek. You're a lifesaver!"
"Think nothing of it, ladies," Creek answered with a gentle smile as he secured the bandage in place with medical tape. "That's what friends are for."
Poppy turned away, giggling slightly and blushing a bit. "Yeah... That's what friends are for!" She sighed and turned back to watch Creek as he finished up.
Poppy had been hearing a lot of stories about Creek from trolls around the village. It sounded like he deserved a medal or something—he was the most helpful troll in Troll Village these days. Hearing how Creek always took the time to help others, Poppy was starting to like him more and more.
It wasn't long before Poppy decided Creek deserved a celebration since he was such a great guy. She gathered all of their friends and a few other trolls Creek had helped out lately and threw him a huge surprise party. She made sure her dad baked Creek's favorite cake for the occasion. One member on her guest list couldn't make it to the party due to his dad hosting the bergenball tournament's finals, but Prince Gristle did offer to distract Creek for a bit. While Poppy and the others set up the party, she sent Creek to Bergen Town to pick something up for her.
Why Poppy wanted a chocolate pizza with fudge for the sauce and candy toppings, Creek wasn't sure. Even better, when he made it back to the royal pod, he was surprised to see the lights were out. Poppy had told him to meet her at her home, but it didn't look like anyone was there. Then someone turned on the lights and everyone popped out.
"Surprise! Thank you for helping us out, Creek!" they all cried.
Creek started, eyes wide with surprise. With the lights on, he could now see that the whole place was decorated with balloons and streamers. A ball overhead opened and dropped confetti everywhere. Off to the side was a table filled with refreshments, and DJ was sitting on her brand new wooferbug. Next to Peppy, there were two cakes, one large enough for the whole group and the other small enough that it seemed meant for just one troll. Both had purple frosting spelling out a thank you for Creek, with the message on the bigger one reading, "Thank you, Creek, for all your help!" and the smaller simply, "Thank you, Creek!"
The guest of honor took this all in in just a couple of seconds. Then he smiled brightly and ran over with the chocolate pizza. Suddenly it made sense that she had wanted one of those. "Oh, my! You did all of this for me!?" he asked.
"Of course!" Chenille answered cheerfully, smiling.
"You're our friend, and you've been doing so much for all of us lately that we decided to pay you back," Satin added.
A troll covered in paint, Harper, agreed, "That's right! You deserve it, Creek!"
"Yep!" Cooper said, nodding enthusiastically. "Even if I do still wonder why you like this cake!" He pointed at the smaller of the two cakes, which was all the clue Creek needed to know that it was fluffleberry cake.
Smidge poked up beside him, smiling brightly, and said, "Aw, who cares!? He deserves it! He fixed my head when I overdid it working out!" She threw her arms up excitedly.
"Yeeeeess! And he helped me find my lucky mirror the other day!" Guy added with a smile as he held up a yellow mirror that looked entirely normal.
"He helped us settle a disagreement," Satin said.
"Argument," Chenille corrected.
Satin looked at her twin lamely, wondering if she was just trying to start something.
"He fixed my bike when the tire came off!" Aspen said.
"And he picked all those trollberries for me for this year's Trollberry Pie Festival!" Mags Gumdrop said.
Poppy threw her arms out to the sides with a bright smile on her face and said, "Exactly. Creek's been such a super good friend lately, he deserves to be celebrated!" She threw her arms up at the end.
Everyone else cheered in agreement.
Creek smiled proudly. He was touched that they were doing this for him. "Why, thank you, you all. I don't know what to say."
Having everyone's support and affection did feel good, but Creek couldn't help but feel guilty, too, knowing how this would all end. Looking at the small cake that he just knew was meant for the only troll who could stomach it, Creek decided maybe trying to stomach his supposed "favorite" cake would help him get his mind off his guilt.
It worked. Hours later, after only eating a single piece of that cake, Creek still felt disgusted. He shoved the rest of the unwanted abomination into the arms of the only troll who really did like that thing, saying, "Here! Take this disgusting thing before I lose my dinner!"
Branch looked at the cake in his arms, confused, then looked at Creek. "Where did this one come from?"
Creek reached for Branch's toothpaste, pulling his toothbrush out of his hair—he'd used up all of his toothpaste on the flight over here. "Oh, everyone decided to throw a 'thank you' surprise party for me today! Orchestrated by Poppy, no less!" As he brushed his teeth, he continued, "An' they gave m' tha' as a thank u 'ift! Ugh! My mouf's still numb! Why do you ike that stuff in th firs place!?"
Given that he had a toothbrush in his mouth that whole time, the words were hard to make out, but Branch knew Creek well enough to have a general idea of what he'd said. As the older troll kept brushing feverishly, Branch looked at him lamely. "...Don't use all of that. You know full well I can't get more for myself."
Creek took a huge mouthful of water, gargled it, and spit it into the bucket meant for that. "Y-yes, of course... Sorry, mate... Ugh." He stuck his tongue out, looking like he still wanted to vomit.
Branch put the cake on the desk, secretly enjoying Creek's suffering. Really, his feelings about Creek couldn't be anymore confusing if they tried—one day, he felt bad for him; and the next, he wanted to see Creek in agony. By this point, Branch had given up on making sense of what he felt for the guy. He'd decided that it didn't matter if Creek was his friend or not. It didn't change the fact that he relied on Creek to stay alive, so pushing Creek away was out of the question.
"Come on, it's not that bad," Branch said, looking at the dramatic purple troll.
"Only you seem to believe that, my friend," Creek answered, pointing at him. "But have it your way." He then reached into his hair and pulled out some toy cars, smiling. "But enough about that," he said. "What do you think of model cars, mate? Most trolls our age think they're the bees knees!"
Branch eyed the small toys skeptically. They fit in the palm of Creek's hand and didn't look all that interesting to the gray troll. "What's so great about them?" he asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be something dumb like "they shoot glitter."
Creek looked at Branch uncertainly and answered, "I don't really know. Most trolls simply think they're cool, but..." Obviously Branch was in disagreement, given his reaction. Creek put them away and pulled out several action figures as he said, "Alright, then how about these? Boy trolls simply love action heroes these days! And none are more sought-after than the Troll Rangers! See? They're this group of super trolls who—"
From the excited look on Creek's face, he really liked the Troll Rangers himself.
Branch, however, didn't care for action heroes. "Not interested," he cut Creek off.
Creek frowned, putting them down. He looked a bit disappointed, even. "Oh." He put the action figures away and pulled out a couple of water guns instead. "Then perhaps water fighting would best suit your—"
"Not interested, given how scarce water is and how cold it usually is around here."
Creek put those away, looking discouraged now. "Well, cobra's, Branch. What would you like to play with, then? Those puzzles certainly aren't enough to bring about your happiness. And having fun with one's friends still seems to be the most surefire way to true happiness! Everything fun I do with my friends makes me happy every time!"
"I like board games more than those dumb toys," Branch answered. "King Peppy never got me to play with anything like that, either."
"...Oh. So more than just chess and checkers, huh?"
"Yeah..." After thinking it over for a second, Branch added, "Card games work, too."
"...Oh."
From then on, Creek tried to find board games Branch would enjoy. However, he rejected the ones kids usually wanted, like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. Creek then went for more logic-based and skill-based games, like Yahtzee, which Branch seemed to enjoy. He brought Branch a game called Hi-Q, which had a bunch of pins. Creek himself didn't understand the rules of that game, but Branch seemed to enjoy it.
Having discovered Branch's preference, Creek brought similar games—backgammon, Risk, a deck of cards, and similar games. Of course, since Creek hadn't played these games himself, it took him quite awhile to learn how to play them. Soon, however, he became an expert at most of them. Chess was the exception—he doubted he'd figure that out before adulthood, given how complicated it was.
After another year of helping around the village, flirting with Poppy, and trying to make Branch happy, Creek had only made progress with one of his goals—winning Poppy over. In fact, he might have been having more success there than even he realized.
One day, the 9-year-old princess headed off to meet Cooper, Smidge, Biggie, and DJ for a downhill ride in an old mine cart they'd found. She was humming happily, not a care in the world. Satin and Chenille saw her alone, an unusual sight. Ever since the day they had met her, she'd almost always had one specific troll with her.
"Poppy?" Chenille asked, concerned for the missing troll. "Where's Creek?"
"Oh! Hey, guys! What's up?" Poppy greeted with a smile as she approached them.
"Not much," Satin answered. Then she also asked, "Where's Creek?"
"We don't see you alone much," Chenille said by way of explanation.
Poppy closed her eyes and waved a hand dismissively as she answered, "Oh, that? He's taking his usual 3 hour meditative nap. You know he takes his Hindu training extremely seriously." She smiled slyly at them as she opened her eyes and crossed her arms.
Every day for the last four years, Creek had taken what he called a 3-hour meditative nap in the afternoon. He told everyone it was an important part of his Hindu beliefs, but nobody quite understood why or how. They didn't really understand how Hinduism worked.
"Oh," Satin said.
"I don't understand how he can take a meditative nap." Chenille raised an eyebrow and waved a hand in front of her in confusion, asking, "Isn't meditation supposed to be something you do when you're awake?"
Poppy shrugged. "Don't look at me, you guys. I'm not a guru troll, so how would I know? Besides..." She put her hands to her cheeks and lifted one foot off the air as she continued, "Creek said it's all necessary to become the greatest and wisest troll in Troll Village someday! And then he can help me take care of the entire village without ever making a single mistake. Why, just think of it! I'd be the best queen the trolls have ever had! This is a dream come true! I can't wait!" She started giggling, blushing.
Just the thought of having the wisest and coolest troll helping her be the perfect queen one day seemed too good to be true. Creek was everything a girl could ask for—an expert scrapbooker, the best singer and dancer, the kindest and most caring troll around, and more. She couldn't ask for a better friend. Creek was perfect, and nobody could ever be better.
The twins smirked—they could see how Poppy was feeling about Creek.
"Oh, we know," Satin said with a conspiratorial grin.
"When are you going to tell him how you feel?" Chenille asked slyly.
Poppy blinked, looking lost. "Huh? Tell him what?"
"That you like him," Chenille answered.
"And we're not talking the normal kind of like."
"You know...you like like him."
Poppy moved back nervously, arms up in a defensive manner. She could only think of one word that matched that, and she didn't want to attach it to Creek. "Er, you're not referring to that whole 'fiance' thing, are you? Because I'm way too young for that, and besides! The last one I had wasn't very nice." Poppy had figured out what a fiance was some time ago and now understood that the troll who had been living with her and her dad wasn't her brother, just like he'd always said. She had been signed up to marry a boring jerk, and her dad had somehow thought it was fair that she and that guy not have a say in it. "And don't you think it'd be a little weird to be married to one of your best friends? That is way too awkward, you guys. What are you thinking?"
Naive and 9, Poppy genuinely thought that was weird. But the twins could tell she was interested. They smirked and continued their teasing.
"That's not exactly what we meant," Satin said, referring to the mention of an apparent arranged marriage.
"It's more based on feelings, not...whatever that one was," Chenille added, thinking of the late prince who had been chosen for Poppy before any of them were even old enough to say yes.
"Uuhhh..." Poppy just looked lost.
She knew that boys and girls would become fiances and get married, but she barely understood that part. Sure, in the fairy tales she read, boys and girls fell in love and got married, but she didn't know what love felt like. She loved her friends the same way people loved their fiances, as far as she could tell. What were these two hinting at? Was there more to this "love" thing than she thought?
The twins just laughed a bit. Poppy's age or not, they had a better understanding of what romance entailed. Poppy just blinked, still lost.
Since the twins didn't seem to have any intention of explaining anything to her, Poppy headed off to meet with the others. None of them could explain it any better. Biggie and Cooper gave it their best shot, but it still didn't make sense to her, so she decided to ask her dad when she got home. Because of that, she learned more about romance than she could have imagined.
With what she heard, she started wondering if maybe she did have feelings for Creek. She wasn't comfortable with talking about this with the older troll, however. Besides, she was so young that he probably wouldn't feel the same way, even if she did have a crush.
Creek was glad he'd found a creek that was closer to the tower than Troll Village. If not for that, bath night for Branch would be a nightmare every week, like it had been early on. He came into the tower one night with more water than he could handle, looking exhausted, like he always did on bath nights.
"Huff, huff..." he breathed. "A-alright, mate... G-get in..." He poured the last of the water into the wash basin, unsure how much more of this he could handle. He sat down on the floor, breathing heavily.
Branch was never any happier about bath night than Creek was—sure, it was the only time he had to get cleaned up, but the baths were always cold. Still, he headed over, got undressed, and climbed in.
Creek took a few more deep breaths, leaning on the basin. A towel and washrag were draped over his shoulders, and another bucket of water sat by his side, ready for when Branch needed rinsed off. "Th-that's it, mate! Th-this...has got to stop!" he complained, still trying to catch his breath. He was fed up with this situation.
"Whatever it is, it's not my fault," Branch said simply. Seeing as I have literally no control over my life these days...
"I-I know, mate... But we've got to do something about this water dilemma. It'll be the death of me at this rate, I'm afraid!" Creek handed him the wash rag and some soap, standing up.
There was a point where Branch would complain about the lack of privacy involved here, but that time was long gone. It had been four years since he'd gotten a bath without Creek helping out, so he just took the offered items without complaint and started washing himself, saying, "Yeah, well, good luck finding another answer. I mean, I guess you could always just stop bringing water for anything other than drinking. That'd make things easier for you."
Branch, honestly, saw a benefit to Creek having to keep lugging water here—if bringing water every night did end up being the death of Creek, he couldn't lure everyone else into a trap. Sure, Branch himself would die of dehydration or starvation soon after since no one else knew he was here, but at least the rest of the village would be safe. Cooper, Biggie, Poppy, and Peppy would never even have to know Creek was dead if he died along the way to the tower. It would just look like he'd left or something. Not that Branch would wish for that—he still hoped they could find a way for all of them to get out of this nightmare. Even though he doubted he'd ever be happy, he still fought every creature that tried to get into the tower and eat him. So he offered an alternative solution instead.
"Oh, no, it most certainly wouldn't!" Creek countered Branch's suggestion. "Or have you forgotten when we learned about the importance of hygiene where our overall health is concerned?"
If Branch stopped bathing completely, he'd get sick more often, and Creek couldn't spend all day here with him to take care of him if that happened. When Branch got sick, it was a lot of work and worry—Creek made an emergency run to get more water for Branch to drink; gave him an examination; treated his symptoms; made sure he ate something before being left alone; and left water, food, and any medicines that could help him feel better nearby so he didn't have to get out of bed. Then Creek spent the next day hoping Branch wouldn't be worse off when he was able to return that night, waited for Chef to be asleep, and relied on his medical training as he sought the antibiotics that Branch would need to get better (which he had to get from the hospital pod, meaning he had to sneak in there and take them without anyone knowing). If he was lucky, Branch would have actually felt well enough to feed himself during the day. Otherwise, Creek had to feed him when he returned, get him started on his new medicine, and make sure that the food he left was something Branch didn't have to cook. He still had to bring extra water for drinking, clean the tower, and empty the chamber pot. The extra work continued for several days until Branch recovered. Luckily, over the last four years, Branch had only gotten sick a couple of times.
Thinking of the disaster that throwing hygiene out the window would lead to, Creek shook his head. "No, the way I see it, there's only one other option!" He handed Branch some shampoo, looking serious and determined.
Branch took the shampoo and started scrubbing his hair, asking, "And that would be?"
"...I develop a sudden desire to change careers." Creek's determination turned to apprehension and resignation.
He waited for Branch to finish washing his hair, then took the bucket of water at his feet and dumped it over Branch's head to rinse him off. Then, while Branch finished rinsing all of the soap off, Creek went to the fireplace and started a fire so Branch could warm up. Now that he was older, he could bring Branch enough firewood to get him through a cold winter day, so they didn't have to ration the wood as much. Besides that, thanks to having to fetch so much for Branch all the time, Creek had actually built up quite a bit of muscle tone over the years. It didn't make the water runs any more pleasant, though, especially since he had to bring the water up into a tall tower all the time.
With that done, Creek helped Branch get out and dried off. While Branch, wrapped in a towel, moved closer to the fire, Creek pulled out a battery-powered hair dryer he'd gotten for his 13th birthday and used it to dry Branch's hair. It never ceased to amaze Creek what he could convince trolls he wanted, and one of his friends had risen to the occasion when he claimed he wanted a way to dry his hair while out camping. It worked so much better than trying to towel dry Branch's hair.
Still, he needed to find a way to address this water problem. Not only would it make bath night easier, it would give Branch more control over when he bathed, ensure he had enough water when he did get sick, and make it easier for Branch to clean during the day. Really, this new idea would greatly improve both of their lives.
Soon, Fuzzberry, a purple fuzzling with red feet, welcomed her newest apprentice. She was glad he was so eager to learn construction—and, in his words, especially plumbing—at his young age. She handed him some safety gear, eager to show him the basics. Here she had thought he wanted to be a doctor.
Creek grinned awkwardly as he put the gear on. He knew that might come up, but he had his answer ready. "Well, you know what they say. You can be anything you want to be as long as you work hard for it." He laughed awkwardly, glad that young trolls often changed their dreams for their futures.
Chef wouldn't suspect a thing, unlike the time he'd decided he loved fluffleberry cake. He could hide his distaste of the dessert from the other trolls, but alone in his room? Chef could still see him, thanks to her crystal, so she knew he hated the stuff. She'd been suspicious early on, but he told her it had been Branch's favorite and he was just trying to remember his friend. Since it didn't interfere with her plans, she didn't care after that, much to Creek's relief. If she thought he was up to anything, he'd be one dead troll. With that in mind, it was good that she, like the other trolls, didn't know anything about Hindu practices.
Fuzzberry was happy to hear that Creek was so eager. So she started him on a basic pipe repair. She then taught him to mix cement, pleasantly surprised to find he seemed to be a natural at it.
Creek was 15 when he started this new, slightly more difficult apprenticeship. While he learned what he needed, he still had to lug a lot of water in for bath night every week. Still, he knew that this would be worth it in the long run.
Two years later, Creek finally knew everything he needed to know to solve his water dilemma—and it was a lot more complicated than he'd expected. Still, he went to the tower, a hard hat on his head, a toolbox on his bug, and a bunch of pipes in his arms. This wouldn't be a quick fix, but he'd finally get this problem solved soon.
"Plumber Creek here, at your service!" Creek said with a playful grin as he came in the window. "Congratulate me. This wasn't an easy skill to master, mate."
Branch smirked a bit and said, "Congratulations. I have to say, trolls and plumbing don't usually go well together. This should be entertaining." He crossed his arms.
"Hey, hey, hey. That's completely uncalled for, mate. I trained under the best of them. Now, if you'll excuse me." Creek headed into the back of the tower, closest to the desk and got to work.
Branch, meanwhile, frowned, thinking, Creek's been working his hair off trying to make me happy... Makes me fell kinda guilty that it's not working. I wish it was, but this isn't something I can just fake. That barrier knows the difference.
He'd spent the last 3 years trying to come to terms with his new life as a prisoner in a tower, his hope sinking more and more with each failed attempt to cheer him up and set him free. By this point, he knew—there was no way Creek was going to get him out of this tower. By some miracle, this realization didn't crush Branch's will to live, like it almost had a few years prior. They could still find a way out of this if Creek was willing to try something else.
Now the only question was whether Branch could muster up the courage to make the suggestion.
"Uh, Creek..." he said. "I think we need to talk about this plan to make me happy."
"Oh? So have you come up with something we can do that will do it?" Creek asked, looking at him hopefully.
Besides bringing more company over? Not that Branch would ever make that suggestion—Creek wouldn't have a way to back out with that one, so he'd freak out instantly. Besides, at this point, Branch wasn't sure even that would work. "Well, no. Actually, I don't think anything will do it. I'm pretty sure I'm just stuck here."
Creek looked sympathetic. He headed toward Branch, saying, "Don't say that, my friend. There has to be some way."
"Creek, I'm trapped in a tower away from home, everyone who ever knew me thinks I'm dead except you, and one day you'll be taking everyone in Troll Village to a different bergen town, and who knows if you'll even be able to come back here then! As far as I can tell everyone's days are numbered, and it's hard to get away from those thoughts when you spend hours alone with your thoughts!" Realizing that he was practically shouting due to how upset he was about this mess, Branch took a breath and continued, "Look, I'm glad you were able to hold on to your happiness despite everything you've been through, but this is different. You had to stay happy in a bad situation. I have to remember how to be happy in a bad situation!"
Creek sighed, looking down. "I see what you mean. That really does make all the difference, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Branch hesitated. He knew he had to say this next part carefully—one wrong word, and Creek would be gone for good. "But maybe you can do something about the rest of it."
"Oh? How?" Creek asked, looking at Branch with suspicion.
Branch put his hands up in a placating gesture and said, "Just hear me out, okay? You know those books you've been bringing in that I've been using to learn to fight? Maybe I can teach you. Then you'd be able to defend yourself and could, maybe, stand up to Chef."
Creek started, his eyes widening. "St-st-st-stand up to Chef!? Have you lost your mind!? Th-th-there's no way I could—"
Branch put his hands on Creek's shoulders to calm him. "Creek, I know you're afraid of her. But I'm not asking you to run out right now and declare your allegiance to King Peppy. I'm asking you to give me a chance to teach you to defend yourself. That's all. If, after you've learned that, you still can't do it, that's fine. But I gave your idea chance, even though I didn't think it would ever work. That's all I'm asking—try."
It wasn't fine. If Creek couldn't stop Chef somehow, even by simply telling Peppy what was happening, then everyone would suffer. But Branch had to get Creek to agree to at least give this a chance before panicking and running away. He hoped that teaching Creek to defend himself would help the older troll feel a bit safer, making it possible for him to overcome his fear of Chef and actually let someone know what was coming. He couldn't believe, after everything Creek had done for him the last 6 years, that Creek was so selfish that he would just let everyone else die to save himself some pain. Even if he had lured Branch into this trap in the first place.
Creek took a shaky breath and nodded. "A-alright, mate... I-I'll give it a g-go..." he said, sounding extremely unsure.
Branch offered a reassuring smile. "It'll be okay, Creek," he said. Somehow...
He wasn't sure how, but surely things would work out, right?
Creek, on the other hand, couldn't help but doubt this new idea. He knew things about Chef that Branch couldn't possibly understand. He'd even been threatened with something so horrible that it would make the deadly wingdingle roll over and play dead, and that beast was legendarily the most dangerous creature in the world, even big enough to kill a bergen. He really didn't want to risk that.
Lucky for him, he had the perfect distraction.
"R-right. But, uh, first things first, I've got some work to do installing this here sewage line, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to get on it," Creek said, and he headed back to the area he'd decided would be the bathroom. He was glad that this project was their top priority right now—he couldn't be forced to face Chef's wrath if he was too busy caring for Branch.
"Right, about that... Don't you need water to have indoor plumbing?" Branch asked, cocking his head and waving his hands. "There isn't any nearby, is there?"
"Well, yes and no, I'm afraid," Creek answered as he got to work on at least installing these pipes. "I mean, there is that creek that I discovered about 2 miles from here, but that's far too far to bother messing with. Not without the use of electricity, that is." Hair knew he couldn't get this tower set up with any sort of electricity. "However, I did manage to locate some groundwater close by with the help of that dousing rod thing you once spoke of. I'd have to build an old-fashioned well and install a gas-powered pump to it, but it should be able to work as long as I keep it fueled up. And gas canisters would be far easier to carry than mass amounts of water buckets, especially if I build it in such a way that it rarely needs to be refilled. It'll be tricky, to say the least, but it should work."
He doubted whether Branch had really understood what needed to be done—Creek himself barely knew what he was going to do to access the water and get it flowing on its own. But, one way or another, he was going to make this work, even if he had to specially design his own gas-powered pump for the water.
"Then there's the tiny issue of getting these here pipes installed into solid brick..."
Honestly, that would probably be one of the easier parts of this endeavor.
Branch shrugged, not really concerned about the specifics. "Well, I guess you know what you're doing, at least."
Creek humphed. "I'd better. I only studied under the fuzzling's guidance for two years now." Muttering, he added, "If I have to listen to Fuzzberry yelling at me for doing something wrong again, I'm gonna—" He cut himself off as he continued working.
Branch laughed a bit, amused at Creek's frustration.
"Well! At least we can take pride in one thing, mate. And that's that our lovely little Princess Poppy's growing up to be a fine young lady." Creek stopped for a second and pulled out a painting of the 11-year-old girl, which he handed to Branch, saying, "That's a painting our dear friend, Harper, did of her. Naturally, she wanted me in the portrait, too, but you know how it is." He got back to work as Branch took the painting and looked at it.
The painting showed Poppy banging a cowbell, beaming and ready to dance. Like always, she didn't seem to have a care in the world. Annoying as she had been to Branch as a child, he couldn't deny that she was adorable.
"...Cute." He set the painting down.
"Ain't she, thought?" Creek sighed. "The sad part is I may actually be falling in love with her. Oh, what's a troll to do?" He sighed and continued working.
Branch couldn't help but think that Creek didn't really love her if he was wondering what he should do. It should be obvious—don't betray her, the way he did Branch. But he didn't say that. "...We'll figure something out, one way or another."
Creek sighed again. "Yes. Yes, we will."