Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls.
When Poppy made it back to camp, she was glad to see that none of the others had made it back yet. As she sat down on the picnic blanket, though, she noticed that the tents were lopsided and caving in on themselves. Since she had nothing better to do, she set about fixing them. She had to tear one (the boys' tent) down completely and start from scratch, but the other just needed some readjusting to stay upright. By the time she finished, everyone was returning, seemingly pleased with their findings.
The twins and Biggie were the first. They walked back into camp, Satin saying, "Well, good news! The lake's perfect for canoe racing!"
"We'll have a great time there!" Chenille added.
Poppy turned to them, beaming, and gestured at the girls' tent that she'd just finished with. "Great! And I managed to fix some minor details involving our tents while you were gone, too!" She looked somewhat apologetic as she added, "Uh, no offense, but maybe Cooper shouldn't be setting them up on his own. The one he pitched wasn't at all put together correctly." She grinned playfully at the twins, knowing this was their first time pitching a tent, and added, "You forgot to tighten the supports in the girls' tent, too."
Biggie's smile faded as he looked at Poppy curiously. "But, Poppy, weren't you going to go see Branch?"
"Yeah, I did," she answered as she headed for the picnic blanket, cheery as ever.
Chenille and Satin both looked at her with puzzled expressions before Chenille cocked an eyebrow and asked, "And did you actually talk to him?"
"Where did you find the time to do that and fix the tents?" Satin asked, gesturing at them.
"Hey, it's not my fault you guys took so long," Poppy answered as she flopped down on the blanket. "Look at the time! You've only been gone two hours already."
"Are we really that close to Branch?" Chenille asked.
Poppy nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh!"
Smidge, Creek, and Fuzzbert came back then, and Smidge excitedly said, "Guys, guys! You won't believe it! The stream's the perfect spot for some white water rafting! It even lets out somewhere nice and calm about a mile away from here!"
Biggie smiled and said, "Oh, excellent! We couldn't have picked a better camping spot, could we, Mr. Dinkles?" Here, he looked at the worm in question. Then his gaze went to Creek as he finished, "And we even got Creek to come! He rarely ever does."
"Meep!" Mr. Dinkles responded with excitement.
"I know, right!?" Poppy said, absolutely thrilled that this was working out so well. "Talk about lucky! I'm really glad we came."
"As am I, Sunshine," Creek said as he approached his fiance, smiling gently and lovingly at her. "And I see you've been quite busy in my absence. Does that mean you're ready to come with me to see what we found?"
Poppy excitedly rose from the blanket, saying, "Of course! I can't wait to see what's out there now that I'm not doing it all alone!"
She and Creek started back out from their campsite, Creek leading the way to the stream his group had found. He called back to the others, "We'll be back later! And nobody touch my wagon while I'm gone, alright? It contains a few personal man objects of mine."
He hoped that would deter them. If they messed with the things on that wagon, they'd probably wonder why he had packed so much extra food.
"Believe me, Creek, we wouldn't dream of it," Chenille assured him.
"Have fun, you two!" Biggie called, waving after them.
"Thanks! We will!" Poppy called back cheerily.
The trolls remaining at the campsite waited until Poppy and Creek were out of earshot before Smidge asked, "So? Did she tell you guys how it went with...you know who?" She cast a wary glance in the direction Creek and Poppy had just headed, hoping her voice hadn't carried too far.
"Well, she didn't say how it went..." Satin began.
"But she did go see him," Chenille finished.
Smidge blinked, looking confused. She didn't have the time to ask anything else, however, because Cooper, DJ, and Guy finally made it back to camp.
"Great news, gang!" Guy said with a smile. "We didn't find a decent spot for hang gliding until we'd walked for about three miiiiiiiiles!"
"That's wonderful, Guy," Biggie said, his face lighting up. "That will give Poppy plenty of time to see Branch!"
"Yeah!" Cooper agreed enthusiastically. "We're gonna be gone a long time!"
"M-maybe so...but can we...stop and rest a...bit, ya guys? I'm...really tired..." DJ said, eyelids drooping, as she stood slouched over, one hand on a tree and another on her knee. She was barely on her feet. She yawned then, stretching.
Everyone looked at her, curious about how tired she was. Sure, DJ loved taking naps, but a walk in the forest shouldn't have been that exhausting. What had worn her out so badly?
Guy looked her way curiously as she slowly trudged back to the campsite. Then he turned to everyone else, an amused grin on his face, and said, "It's been a long walk. Had to climb up the cliffside to get a better view, too."
"Oooh..." the twins said together, understanding dawning.
Biggie blinked, startled. "Yes, that will definitely keep us busy for a while." He looked at his worm again and asked, "Won't it, Mr. Dinkles?"
"Meep!" the worm answered with excitement once more.
"Awesome!" Smidge cheered. "Then, while you guys do that, what do we get to do?" She looked at the twins and Biggie, eager to know what they'd found.
"Uh...canoe?" Satin said.
"Just make sure you don't paddle against me, Satin!" Chenille snapped.
"Hey, you do it, too!"
The fact of the matter was that neither of the twins was any good in canoes. Since a canoe required two people to row, the two of them spent most of their time in canoes just paddling around in circles and yelling at each other for rowing on the wrong side.
"Great! Then the lake's big enough for racing!?" Smidge asked, eyes lit up with excitement, ignoring the twins' argument for now.
DJ, meanwhile, flopped down on the ground right where she was standing and was asleep in seconds.
"Yes, it is," Biggie answered Smidge.
"Awright! I can't wait! I love racing!" Smidge cheered, pumping her fists into the air.
"Yeah! You guys are gonna have a lot of fun!" Cooper said with a smile. Then he looked up, bringing one of his front feet to his chin, and added, "Well, Satin and Chenille are gonna go in a lot of circles, but it'll still be fun!" He laughed.
The twins simply glared at Cooper for this comment.
They put DJ to bed in the girls' tent, then packed for a picnic lunch. They took a hike to look for critters (Poppy rode in the wagon when she got tired, eating her lunch while riding, and everyone else took a break during the walk to eat as well. When they made it back to camp, they spent the rest of the day gathering firewood, building a fire pit, cooking dinner, singing campfire songs, roasting marshmallows, playing games (like charades and I spy), and telling ghost stories. DJ slept through all of it. Creek and Poppy were back in time to join the fun. Finally, as everyone was getting ready for bed, Creek decided he needed to come up with his excuse to stay up later.
"So this is the girls' tent and that's the boys'!" Poppy said, gesturing at the tents in turn as she sat in the doorway of the girls' tent. "Now, can someone help me with my sleeping bag?" she asked, holding it up. "My feet are real tired."
Smidge took Poppy's things and helped her get settled in the tent.
Cooper yawned, stretching, and said, "Whelp, I'm beat! I'm gonna hit the hay, dudes! Night!" Then he went into the boys' tent.
"Yes, I think I will, too," Biggie said, following Cooper into their tent with Mr. Dinkles in his arms.
"We've got a lot planned for tomorrow," Satin said, and she and Chenille headed to bed themselves.
Guy turned to look at Creek, who was standing outside and looking as nervous as ever. "Creek? Aren't you going to join us?" the glitter troll asked, sure that he already knew the answer.
"Uh, you go ahead, mate," Creek answered, hoping he could still pull this off when he was with his friends at night. "I've got some...before bed yoga practices to do. So I'll catch up with you later."
Guy looked at him curiously. He didn't ask, though, knowing that would make things harder for Creek, and simply shrugged after a moment as he headed for the boys' tent. "Alright. See you in the morning, then."
Poppy called out cheerfully, "Night, guys! See you in the morning!"
"Good night!" Biggie called.
"Night, Poppy!" Cooper answered, poking out of the tent and waving.
"Good night, everyone!" Guy said, waving to the girls happily.
"Good night!" said the twins.
"Sleep tight!" Smidge said cheerfully, and she zipped up the girls' tent entrance. One of the boys also closed their tent.
Inside the girls' tent, everyone was silent as they listened, waiting for Creek to leave. They all knew what he really needed to do at night, after all. The only sound they heard at the moment was something heavy thunking around, which made them think he was rifling through the things on his own cart in search of something he'd hidden. The only girl not listening was DJ, still sound asleep. They had thought maybe she'd wake up after a quick nap, but that had obviously been a longer walk than they had thought since she'd been sleeping all day.
Soon, those four girls who were awake heard footsteps, and then everything was quiet soon after.
Smidge waited another moment to be sure he was gone before, a look of slight concern in her eyes, saying, "Remind me, you guys. He's been taking care of Branch at night, right?"
Poppy nodded, looking serious. "Yep. That's the only reason Branch is still alive, 'cause Creek sneaks off to deliver food and visit with him when he thinks the coast is clear." She crossed her arms and added, "Guess Chef's got ways of knowing what he's doing during the day. Don't ask me how, though." She closed her eyes and shrugged. She wasn't sure she wanted to know that, either, given that Chef apparently had magic.
"So that's why Creek never wants to do anything late at night," Satin said.
"Exactly. He needs to take care of Branch!" Poppy said, closing her eyes and smiling, pleased.
She was glad her fiance wasn't cruel enough to abandon his friend. He really wasn't as bad as Branch claimed he was.
"Well, that answers that question," Chenille said, satisfied that she finally knew what was going on. She then reached into her bag, saying, "So? Anyone want to do makeovers?" She pulled out various kinds of makeup and beauty supplies, grinning at the other three girls.
Poppy looked too eager, waving a hand in the air when she said, "Ooh, ooh! I do, I do!"
"Sure! I could use one of those!" Smidge said, also thrilled at the idea. She pulled a flashlight out of her hair and turned it on, beaming with excitement herself.
Satin pulled some more beauty supplies out of her own bag, and the girls got to work giving each other makeovers, starting with some facial masks.
While they did that, Smidge asked, "So how did it go with Branch today? Make any headway with him?"
"I think so," Poppy answered uncertainly, placing a cucumber over one of Chenille's eyes. "It can be hard to tell sometimes. But, boy, he seems to love country music so far! He's agreed with every song I've shared with him!" She placed a second cucumber over Chenille's other eye.
"Really?" Satin asked, slightly surprised, as she smeared clay over Smidge's face.
"I guess we're doing a good job finding songs that match him. That...actually worries me," Chenille said.
Given that the songs they'd found so far were depressing and spoke repeatedly of how difficult life could be, Chenille was starting to worry that Branch was suicidal after all.
Poppy sighed and set a timer for everyone. She didn't like to think about this too much, really. "Yeah, I know. B-but on the bright side, they seem to be helping, right?"
"I hope so," Smidge said, laying back, arms behind her head. "Those are the kinds of songs the bergens love to sing! It's just not trolly to relate to 'em so well, right?"
Poppy sweat, laughing awkwardly as she placed cucumbers over her own eyes. She knew why Branch related to those songs so well, but she couldn't very well tell her friends. It was Branch's business, not hers.
Creek walked up to the tower, whistling. "Good news, mate!" he called up as he prepared to use his hair as a slingshot to get up to the window. "Everyone decided to take a camping trip to the north woods! And they're located so close to here, we can stay up a few hours extra tonight!"
It was 1 in the morning, and Creek usually didn't arrive until closer to 3, so this was a bit of a surprise...at least, it would have been if Poppy hadn't already told Branch that they were camping nearby. As it was, Branch had to act surprised.
"Really?" he asked. "You sure you're okay with them being so close?"
Creek catapulted himself through the window, a calm smile on his face. "No worries, pal! They're not terribly close. And besides! They mostly wish to stay at camp and hang out for Poppy's sake. Her feet are still recovering, after all." He set his basket down on Branch's table and took the empty one from the night before, which he then stuffed in his hair.
Branch really didn't know how to respond to that, so he just said, "Oh."
"Ah, yes. She's been so wonderful about it, too," Creek said, a bit dreamy. "She even took it real easy after our walk to the creek. And she allowed me to carry her. Why, I must say, I don't believe I've ever seen her taking such good care of herself before. She usually gets bored when she has to stay in bed for too long." He shrugged, unsure as to why Poppy was taking better care of herself this time than in the past. Perhaps her feet were hurting her more than she was letting on.
Creek made a mental note to do something extra special for her once she was better. Maybe a romantic getaway in the Rainbow Mountains. They were known for their romantic atmosphere, and Poppy (like most trolls) loved rainbows. He could even use it as sort of a pre-wedding honeymoon. Shiva knew Chef wouldn't let him have a real one, after all.
Well, at least she's taking care of herself when she's not here, Branch thought.
Pulling his thoughts away from his latest plans with Poppy, Creek clapped his hands together, knowing Branch would like a change of subject. Going on about Poppy for too long tended to make the gray troll snippy. "Right! Enough about my Sunshine for the moment. What do you want to do? We've got a few hours tonight, after all." He looked at Branch, smiling eagerly.
"Uh..." Branch looked over the games he had, then said, "I don't really care. You pick."
"Right. Of course," Creek answered stoically, and he headed to the shelf to pick a game to play. He hoped that was just Branch's usual moodiness and not triggered by him talking about Poppy. It could be hard to tell sometimes.
The mere mention of Creek's "Sunshine" was enough to get Branch thinking of the sham this wedding really was. He'd heard at least as much about the wedding plans from Creek as he had from Poppy, especially since the wedding was less than two months away. With Creek once again mentioning Poppy in a way that implied he cared about her, Branch was having a hard time not reminding Creek of the fate he had in store for his so-called "Sunshine."
Don't bring it up, Branch, don't bring it up... he told himself.
As Creek grabbed the chessboard off the shelf, he said, "So, Poppy's thinking of adding a few songs to the wedding reception I've been wondering about." He made his way over to Branch's table with the board, adding, "She seems to think they fit the mood, but I'm not quite sure."
Branch wanted to get sassy with him, but instead, he just said, "Mm."
Creek stopped and blinked at Branch, confused. His eyes widened a bit as he realized what he'd done wrong. And here he'd just been thinking he needed to change the subject to keep Branch calm, too. "...O-oh! Right! You don't want to hear about that. Do you, mate?" he said, feeling a bit nervous and awkward now, as he set the board gently on the table.
Where was his head tonight? He couldn't seem to talk about anything but Poppy.
"No."
"Right. Terribly sorry, friend. Guess I forgot. So? How about we discuss the events of Poppy's 'hair for feet' boredom party instead?"
This story sounded like another about Poppy, but, given how things went that night, it was more of a group thing, so there shouldn't be any harm in that. Branch always seemed to enjoy tales of the Snack Pack's misadventures.
Branch blinked, surprised by the ridiculousness in that statement. "...'Hair for feet' party?"
"Yes." He walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed a box with various playing pieces. "See, it happened Thursday," he continued, pulling the bag of chess pieces out of the box and heading back to the table. "Poppy got so tired of just sitting around, she decided to invite all the trolls to a party where you could either dance on your feet or hair. Oh, the insanity that ensued 'cause of that." Creek grinned, amused, as he started putting the chess pieces on the board. "First Cooper tried dancing to a swing song with Aspen, and they got all tangled up in each other's hair. Then Rufus tried it and got so dizzy, he fell on top of Tug Duluth and Cheese. And then Smidge and King Peppy got very acquainted, if you know what I mean. Needless to say, it didn't end well for most of them." The amused grin never left his face that whole time as he thought of the madness that had transpired.
Branch stared for a second, stunned that Poppy's party could involve that much chaos. Then he smirked and said, "So Poppy's crazy ideas strike again, huh?"
"More like Poppy's sick day boredom, mate. I told you she can be quite the handful when sick or injured," Creek said, his amused grin still in place, as he and Branch both got seated at the table. Creek moved one of his knights and said, "Your move."
Oh, yeah, she's a handful, Branch thought. No denying that.
He brushed that off for now and focused on the game.
Creek kept right on, telling story after story. Most of his tales were about Poppy. During this small talk, he lost the first round of chess to Branch, beat him in a second round, and lost a game of checkers.
Finally, as the night waned, Creek rose from the table and said, "Well, I'd best be getting back now, mate. I'll need my rest for that hang-gliding excursion the boys are going on tomorrow. Though I have to wonder why we can't all do those two things together..." He thought about it for a short second before shrugging it off as he headed for the window. "Oh, well."
If his friends wanted to spend some time with their own genders, who was he to argue? Boys and girls did do things a bit differently sometimes, after all.
"Yeah," Branch said, heading toward the window as well. "Have fun with that."
"Oh, I will, pal. I love flying!" He put his hands on his face and lifted a foot into the air in a pose that Poppy sometimes used for things she grew really excited about. "It's so freeing and—"
That one word triggered Branch. He didn't say anything about it, but one look at Branch's face, and Creek could tell he'd said something wrong. The gray troll looked pained, as if Creek had just shoved a knife into his stomach.
Creek stopped, looking at Branch and giving an awkward grin. He sweat, realizing his mistake too late. "Right...did it again, didn't I?"
There were some words one just shouldn't say around Branch, and Creek was wondering once again when he'd learn. He made this mistake regularly.
Branch shook his head and tried to push those negative feelings aside. It wasn't like Creek had done anything wrong, really. "It's fine, Creek."
Creek sweat, looking uncomfortable. "...Right... Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then," Creek said, then he leaped out the window and called back, "Take care, pal! Good night!" He then ran off, heading back to camp.
He really needed to work on that one. Now he'd have to find a way to cheer Branch up tomorrow night, so he'd have to find the time to bake some fluffleberry cake...again.
Branch watched him go for a second, silent. Finally, he said, "Yeah, 'take care'." He sighed as he shut and locked the window. "...I hate this place..."
Now feeling miserable once again, Branch headed to bed, wishing that he'd never trusted Creek 16 years ago or hadn't run away from home. The chess set was left on the table, Branch's mood making him forget about it. As he always did when he was too upset, he grabbed Croco and held on tight.
Normally, he'd stay like that for a while. This time, however, Poppy's words ran through his head as he lay there. "Let it go, Branch. Everyone has flaws. But we need to learn to look past them and see what's hidden underneath. And underneath Creek is a very good friend to have."
Branch sighed. "She's right. Look on the positive. He didn't leave me here to die, even though that's what Chef had in mind for me. And, even though making me happy isn't something he can do, he's still trying to keep me company when he comes over, too. He doesn't need to do that to keep me alive. He just does because he cares."
"Kids make mistakes all the time, Branch!" Poppy's voice ran through his head. "But it's what they learn from them that counts!" Immediately after that one, he heard, "There's beauty to be found everywhere. Even in this room. Your life's full of blessings, Branch. So stop always looking at the negatives and look on the positives instead!"
Taking Poppy's advice, Branch sat up and looked around the tower. There was a soft rug on the floor, artwork on the walls, games, books...and all of it had been brought here for him by Creek.
"...I made a mistake, but everyone does," Branch reminded himself. "I was just a kid. It's not my fault. And it's not like this is still an empty prison. Creek's brought a lot of stuff here to make it more comfortable. Yeah, I might be trapped here, but at least it's more like a home now."
Since he knew he wasn't likely to get to sleep any time soon, Branch left Croco on the bed and headed over to his desk. He got out his journal and started writing. As he did so, Poppy kept running through his head—talking about his moments, reminding him to get back up when life knocks him down, whining and freaking out over her shooting star wish, complaining her feet hurt...
Branch smiled as he thought of her, and he soon found himself writing poems about Poppy more than anything else.
"See? You can do this, Branch!" Poppy's previous words ran through his head again. "You just gotta believe in yourself a little more, and you'll be happy in no time!"
Branch just sat there for a second, smiling and looking at what he'd written as he thought about Poppy's words. Then he closed his journal, still smiling, and said, "I'd better get some sleep." Feeling better than he had before, he headed back to bed, blowing the torch out as he did.
The next day, the Snack Pack was up bright and early. Once everyone had showered and had breakfast, they took off for some white water rafting. Cooper fell into the water but managed to catch the back of his raft with his hair. He started water skiing for the rest of the trip, and everyone was just relieved he hadn't drowned.
When they finished there, the Snack Pack returned to camp for a quick lunch before heading out for their separate activities.
With the hang gliders with the boys and the canoes with the girls, Guy waved happily and teased Satin and Chenille by saying, "Have fun, ladies! Try to remember to drive in a straight line for a change!"
"Very funny, Guy!" they both said, hands on their hips.
Guy just walked off, laughing.
"See you when I see you, Sunshine!" Creek called, waving over his shoulder to Poppy, as he followed the other boys. "Good luck!"
"Thanks! You, too!" Poppy answered happily.
"Awright! Let's head over to the lake so Suki and I can beat you again!" Smidge said to the twins once the boys were out of earshot. She smacked her hands together, a nasty grin on her eager face.
"Awright! I love winnin' a handicap race!" DJ said excitedly. She pumped her fists into the air and cried, "Ooooh!"
The twins looked at each other, Chenille's eyes half closed in a somewhat annoyed manner.
"We need to get it right this time," Chenille said, and her sister nodded.
The girls took their canoes and headed for the lake. When they arrived, DJ smiled and said, "Okay, Pops! Ya can go on and ditch us now. Smidge will tell ya when we're done here."
Smidge, meanwhile, was getting the canoes ready.
"Say hi to Branch for us!" Satin told Poppy, smiling.
"Okay! Will do! Good luck, Satin! You'll need it!" Poppy giggled, amused, as she took off for the tower.
Chenille punched her hands onto her hips and called, "Very funny, Poppy!"
"Awright! Everything's ready! Let's get out there and win this!" Smidge said, pumping a fist in the air.
"Right!" DJ agreed, then she ran to get into Smidge's canoe, eager for this victory.
The twins looked at each other with more determination than ever.
"I'll row on the left, you row on the right?" Satin suggested.
"Right!" Chenille agreed, adding, "And we'll count it out, too!"
Satin nodded, and the conjoined twins got into their own canoe, ready to prove that they could canoe better than they ever had before.
"On your marks!" DJ said, holding a hand up over her head. "Get set... Gooooo!" As she said the last word, she quickly lowered her hand, pointing ahead and signaling the start of the race. Then she quickly grabbed her own paddle and started rowing
And the race began. Smidge and DJ were rather surprised when the twins actually put up a decent fight for a change.
After writing poems about Poppy for about an hour, Branch spent the rest of the night—and the next morning—sleeping. He had some strange dreams, all of them involving fairy tales.
Poppy was a princess who had to kiss a frog to break the spell. When she finally did, the frog turned into Branch. Suddenly, he found himself locked in a dungeon while a witch who looked remarkably like Chef put Poppy in an enchanted sleep from which she would never awaken. The Snack Pack, as fairies, helped him escape and defeat the witch. When he went to awaken the princess, there were animals everywhere, and the Snack Pack were suddenly dwarves. Branch kissed the princess, and she woke up and hugged him. Everyone cheered. Then his fairy godfather, Creek, made a wedding carriage for Branch and Poppy out of a pumpkin and magically gave them fancier clothes for their wedding. For some reason, one of Poppy's shoes appeared in Branch's hand rather than on her foot.
Just as Branch was slipping the shoe onto Poppy's foot, he woke up. He just lay there for a second, absorbing the bizarre dream. "...Wow, that was weird..."
Given how much everyone was teasing him about being Rapunzel lately, it could easily have been inspired by that. Branch made a mental note not to go to bed thinking about stupid fairy tales anymore.
He sat up and looked around the dark tower. There were slivers of light coming in from around the window. "What time is it?"
Branch went to the window and opened it. The sun was high in the sky, so Branch didn't think it was morning anymore. Given the trouble he'd had sleeping the night before, he wasn't really surprised.
"Afternoon. Ugh, that was a long night."
Just as he was about to move away from the window and get something to eat, he heard Poppy singing, "Oh...yeah! Today is the best day ever! Best day ever! Oh...yeah! Today is the best day ever! Best day ever, and I'm flying high!"
Branch looked off in the direction the voice was coming from. He couldn't see her yet, but he knew for sure that it was Poppy. "Sounds like I woke up right on time," he said to himself, smiling as he held onto the windowsill.
Sure enough, Poppy popped out of the woods just then, waving and smiling as she sang on, "Hi, there, friend! How's it going, what's happening? Whoo-ooh... Whoo-oooh..."
"Not much!" he answered, smirking at her antics. "Not a lot happens out here."
Poppy whipped her hair up to the windowsill and smacked Branch's hand playfully before grabbing the ledge. She wagged a finger at him as if to say "no, stop being negative" and sang on, "I'm givin' out all good vibes. Infecting him with my smile!" Here she pointed at Branch as she formed a staircase out of her hair again. "Whoo-ooh... Whoo-ooh..."
Branch looked startled when she first smacked him, but then he smiled and shook his head a bit. "You're definitely having a good day," he observed.
Poppy kept right on singing as she climbed her hair. "Shout from the highest mountain! As loud as I can!" She leaped into the window, and Branch moved aside to let her in, still smiling. Poppy landed on the windowsill and danced a bit as she finished singing, "Oh...yeah! Today is the best day ever! Best day ever, and I'm flying high!" Then, her song finished, she grinned at Branch and hopped into the room as she greeted, "Hiya, Branch! How's your day going?"
"Well, I just woke up, so there's not a lot to report," Branch answered, arms crossed.
Poppy deflated, looking at him with concern. It was afternoon, and she somehow doubted that Branch frequently slept so long. He hadn't done that when she'd been staying with him, at least. "Why? What happened?"
"I was up a little late last night, that's all."
Poppy stared at him for a bit, slightly annoyed at his refusal to be honest with her. Her expression lame, she simply said, "Branch."
He sighed and relented, "Okay, fine! I had a hard time getting to sleep after Creek left, so I tried thinking positive instead. I ended up doing some journaling before I was able to get some sleep, but it helped."
That answered most of her questions, but there had to have been something that triggered such a rough night. "...And what did Creek do that was so upsetting?" Poppy asked.
Branch looked away, reluctant to answer.
"Branch!" Poppy snapped, hands on her hips.
How was she supposed to help him if he kept trying to hide things from her? She wished he could be as open with her as he'd been that first time. Why did it seem like sharing his tragic shame- and guilt-filled life story was easier for him than telling his thoughts and feelings?
Still looking away, he answered, "He was telling me about the plans you guys had for today."
This was getting her nowhere. "...Branch. I know this whole thing's new to you, but you need to tell me exactly what he said and why it caused you issues. Seriously. If you want my help beating this, you need to be honest with me. It's okay. I can handle it. Whatever it is."
She knew she could help if he'd just stop hiding from her. She'd studied with a bergen psychologist to learn how to deal with these kinds of issues and could still go back to the guy if anything new came up. Besides that, she herself was an expert on happiness and positive thinking, so Branch would be happy in no time if he'd just let her in already. She couldn't understand why that was so hard for him to do.
Branch stared at her for a moment before he closed his eyes and sighed. "He was talking about going hang gliding today. Said he loves flying because it's freeing."
Poppy started, eyes widening in understanding. "Oh..."
Given Branch's current situation, the word "free" probably would trigger him, regardless of the context.
"Yeah...so I tried to focus on everything Creek's done for me since then and reminded myself that I wasn't trapped in an empty prison tower anymore."
Poppy heard several things in there that told her all she needed to know about the situation. "Wasn't" was a reminder that something bad had happened, given the context. "Trapped" and "prison" were obvious bad points. "Empty" indicated a lack of pretty much anything when used that way. All of these were things that no troll should need to worry about, especially all at once. It was no wonder he'd had a hard time calming down.
"...Okay. Clearly, you need more help with this whole 'thinking positive' thing," she said, heading over to Branch's desk. She picked up the notebook laying on the desk and was about to open it.
Branch's eyes widened. "Hey, don't open that!" he said, running over and grabbing the notebook out of her hand.
Poppy, now holding a pen, blinked, eyes wide. "...Why? What's—"
"It's, uh..." Branch sighed, closing his eyes for a second, then finished, "That's my journal."
Poppy blinked again, feeling a bit unnerved by that. She'd almost read Branch's private thoughts from years past, and, given what those likely were, she really didn't need to know. "...Oh. Well, uh, would it be alright to tear out a few blank pages?" She looked around and added, "'Cause I don't really see anything else to write in."
In answer, Branch opened the desk drawer and pulled out another notebook, which he handed to Poppy instead.
"...Oh." Poppy sweat and gave a sheepish grin as she took the offered notebook.
She felt a bit silly. Of course, he had to have something extra to write in, given how frequently they'd been writing to each other. Most trolls wouldn't want to rip pages out of their journals or diaries regularly.
Branch put his journal in the drawer and closed it, unwilling to let Poppy know what kinds of things he'd written about her the previous night.
Poppy watched him for a second before she cheerfully said, "Okay! Then here's what we're gonna do!" She opened the notebook to a blank page and set it on the desk, then handed the pen to Branch as she moved aside. As she did so, she noted that there had definitely been pages torn out of this notebook, so it was obviously the one he used for writing to her. She wondered how she could be so clueless. "Now, I want you to write down anything positive in your life right now and why it's a good thing. Try to avoid any words or sentences that make it even the least bit negative, like 'prison' or 'trapped.' Then, when you finish, read what you wrote to me, okay?" She gave a gentle, encouraging smile as she spoke.
"Uh...okay," Branch answered uncertainly, but he sat down to try it anyway.
While he did that, Poppy headed over to his bed and sat down. She pulled out a scrapbook to work on quietly, thinking this might take a little while.
She was right. It did take some time for Branch to finish with that task. Soon, however, he looked over the list one last time and set the pen down. "I think I'm done."
Poppy closed her scrapbook and put it away. As she got up, eager to see what Branch had, she left a bit of a mess on his bed. "Great! Let's hear it!"
"Okay..." Branch said, feeling a bit self-conscious now. He picked up the notebook and read, "'Creek. He visits every night and keeps me company. This place is warm and comfortable, and there are plenty of things to do. Poppy...comes over when she can and tries to help and gives me someone else to talk to."
"Great work, Branch!" Poppy said, giving him a proud smile. "That sounds a lot better!"
The fact that he still needed help and company was a bit concerning for her, but Poppy didn't worry too much about it. It could be used to represent hope, after all, and that was something Branch needed more than anything. So she decided to let that go for now. The rest, however, was perfect, and she couldn't help but be proud. This was Branch's first successful attempt at thinking positively, and it was really good for a first try.
Branch set the notebook back down on the desk, closing it as he did.
As great as that list currently was, it still needed some more, things that couldn't be seen as negatives by anyone's standards. Knowing Branch wasn't likely to come up with those on his own, Poppy eagerly ran over and opened the book up again, saying, "Hold that thought!" She took the pen and wrote some positive things on the list herself. Branch looked at her, slightly startled.
When she was finished, she pushed the notebook back in front of Branch, saying, "Here, Branch. Read this, too." She gave him a gentle, caring smile.
He read silently:
The sun – Shines in through the window, providing light and warmth.
The stars – Paint a lovely picture in the sky that moves sometimes.
The wind – Creates a nice, cool breeze.
The door – Keeps me safe from predators.
Letters from a friend – Keeps me informed of what's going on in Troll Village. Provides another way to communicate with friends.
Hope – Knowing that there's still a way to be happy and that dreams can come true.
Branch thought about Poppy's additions a bit. Yeah, I guess those count. His eyes wandered to the last one on the list, which would have made him laugh or throw the whole thing into the fire just a few weeks ago. Hope... Well, Poppy's appearance did give me hope that the others will be okay, at least. I doubt she wants me to say that, though.
"Well? What do you think? And be honest, Branch. I mean it," Poppy asked, playful yet firm, as she crossed her arms.
Branch thought carefully about the best way to answer that before saying, "You've got some good points."
"Exactly," Poppy said, smiling gently, and she tore the page out of the notebook. "Alright! Now, I want you to take some nails out and hang this up somewhere you can see it really well!" she said, handing the list to Branch with a smile on her face.
"Uh, bad idea," Branch said, shaking his head.
Poppy blinked, curious. "...Why?"
Branch gave her a lame look. "...Creek."
Poppy stared at him, wondering why that would matter. Then, realizing some things on that list were sort of suspicious, she realized what he was getting at. "...Oh... Rright... He's still a factor, ain't he?" she said, suddenly remembering that.
"Given that he comes over every night, yeah."
Poppy briefly thought of what to do with this minor setback, then she said, "Okay! But...who said you had to tell him why you wrote this?" She looked a bit mischievous now.
Branch could hardly believe that she didn't see the biggest problems here. "...Poppy, 'letters from a friend' would seem kind of weird on a piece of paper on my wall."
She leaned to the side a bit, holding up a finger and grinning mischievously. "Ah. But what if he didn't know who that 'friend' was, hmm?"
Branch could always make up an imaginary friend to write to and say the tales were based on things Creek said. It could be a way to feel less alone, perhaps.
Branch just looked at her lamely again. "And the part I wrote?"
Poppy gave a start, eyes wide, and glanced at the paper, where her name was written near the top. She'd forgotten that was there. "...Uuhh..." She sweat, feeling awkward.
"Uh-huh. Besides that, Poppy, everyone in Troll Village thinks I'm dead. What friend would I be writing to who tells me what's going on there? If Creek thought I was in touch with anyone from Troll Village, he'd freak out because he'd think he's about to be found out. Then he'd tell Chef that the trolls were onto him, which would lead to him telling her that I'm still alive, dragging out a 'please don't kill me' confession. Chef would beat Creek for saving my life against her wishes, change her plans for Troll Village, and probably come after me, too."
And that was just going with the contents of the list. The fact that it changed handwriting partway through was another problem, especially since Creek should have an easier time recognizing his own fiance's handwriting.
Poppy stared for a second, absorbing all of that. The part about the letters made sense when Branch put it that way, but the rest sounded like something from Rapunzel. It reminded her of the witch gouging the prince's eyes out for impregnating Rapunzel—the bergen version of the story, in other words. It didn't seem likely that it would happen, in her opinion. "...Wwow... That sounds about as dark as what would happen to the real Rapun—"
"Don't finish that," Branch cut her off flatly.
Poppy stood there, disturbed by those gruesome images Branch had put in her head. She didn't want to think about another troll being beaten, let alone her fiance, and the implications for the village and Branch weren't really any better.
Forcing her mind to focus on something else, she smiled uncomfortably and said, "Okay! Plan B, then! You hide that paper somewhere safe, and anytime you need a mood boost, pull it out and read it! The more you remind yourself of the good things in life, the easier it'll be to stay positive!"
Branch thought about it for a fraction of a second. There weren't any huge risks involved in that idea, so he saw no reason to protest. "Yeah, I can do that."
Poppy threw her hands over her head, smiling brightly. "Great! Get to it, then! And try to relax, Rapunztroll," Poppy teased, grinning mischievously. "I'll do my best to keep you safe from harm. You know! Like any good 'prince' would." She playfully ran a hand down his cheek, looking at him with motherly affection.
Branch gave her a lame look once again. Now she was feigning being in love with him and showing him affection to assure him he was safe with her. He wanted to smack her for that, but he held back, partly because he didn't want to scare her off and partly because she almost sounded sincere in her "love" for him. "...For your sake, I'll pretend I didn't just hear that," he said, and he went to hide the list in the box of letters he had under his bed.
"So! Now that we've learned more about being positive, care to try your hand at becoming a troll again?" Poppy asked, trying to be encouraging as well as cheerful.
A big part of making trolls happy was doing trolly things they all enjoyed, and doing them with friends only made it better. Poppy needed to find out which activities Branch would enjoy as part of his treatment plan. Once all his troubled feelings were dealt with, if she could get him having fun, he'd be happy in no time.
"Sure. What do you have in mind?" Branch asked as he slipped the box back under his bed and turned to look at her.
Poppy pulled out some scrapbooks, still grinning, and answered, "Why not start with scrapbooking!? It's a way of expressing yourself or just having fun that doesn't require much energy to enjoy! So you..." She paused, looking for the right words. "Uh..." She grinned awkwardly, knowing what might appeal to Branch, and tried to sound excited as she continued, "Can be as moody as ya want while making one, Branch." She grinned at him teasingly.
That statement was awkward, so she tried to make it sound more playful. Admittedly, it was a bit amusing to think that he might actually want to scrapbook if he could use it for venting his emotions. He still refused to try, and she knew it—when she'd asked him to make one, she'd woken up the next morning to find the book empty. He hadn't even opened the thing, from what she could tell.
Branch looked at the book in her hand, remembering her last attempt to get him to scrapbook. He sighed. "And what would I be scrapbooking?"
"Anything you want, Branch! Look, scrapbooking's just like journaling, only you're using pictures instead of words! So you can draw out the exact same things you write! Give it a try!" She handed him a scrapbook, eager to get him started.
Branch looked at the book for a second before he took it.
"Great! Let's get started. And this time, try doing something besides sitting there staring at it all night, okay?" Poppy said with a teasing grin, grabbing her scrapbooking supplies from inside her knapsack and placing it all on the floor between her and Branch. She sat down and started working on a page of her own.
Branch sighed. He still didn't know what to do, and he wasn't sure if he would actually like scrapbooking. Regardless, he gave it his best shot. After all, Poppy wanted him to try more trolly activities. If she thought this could help him find his happiness, he'd go along with it. So far, she'd had more success than Creek ever had, after all.