Hello!
Finally, here is chapter 19! I can't believe I'm writing chapter twenty already! Thank you all so much for the support!
Big thanks to WildKat25, she helped me a lot with this chapter with Tresillo and even wrote out the Barb and Poppy scenarios for me to use and base it off!
Anyways, on with the story! I don't own Trolls, but Rose is my OC.
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Branch watched as most of the trolls started to leave. He took a few steps back, taking a deep breath as his hand shook. He felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to see his pink troll next to him. "How are you doing, Branch?" Poppy asked, gently rubbing his arm as she gave him a smile.
He gave her a smile in return. "I just can't believe I said all that in front of everyone." He placed a hand on hers, squeezing it tightly.
"I think you did a great Branch." Queen Essence smiled as she stood behind Poppy. "You explained the situation very well, and it's not too hard to understand how we can help Rose."
"It went very well. I'm glad you were the one to give the speech Branch." King Quincy said, standing next to his wife. "We will take our leave now. If you have questions or need any help, don't hesitate to talk to us." He gave Branch a smile before he started walking away with Essence behind him.
"The song went amazing as well. It takes a lot of courage to do what you just did." Delta walked over to them with Barb behind her. "Well Sugar, Why don't you and Rose come to the park tomorrow? I will be taking Clampers there, they could play for a bit. How does that sound?"
Branch nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you Delta." He smiled at her. Delta leaned down and wrapped her arms around Branch, shocking him as he hugged her back.
"Great." She said when she pulled back, smiling before she looked over at Poppy who was staring at her in awe. "Come here Poppy." She laughed, holding her arms out.
"Yes!" Poppy cheered as she hugged Delta. After a moment Delta pulled back, chuckling at the excited queen.
"We better go, we will see y'all tomorrow." She started walking away as Clampers peered from out of her hair to wave them goodbye.
"Bye!" Poppy waved enthusiastically back as they walked away. Poppy turned back to Branch, her grin growing. "They understand! I mean, I knew they would but still! They understand." She wrapped her arms around him, kissing his cheek.
"I would still be cautious if I were you. There were a couple dozen or so that either didn't clap or only clapped because others were. Most of them were pop trolls." Barb said, her arms crossed.
Poppy turned to her as her grin vanished. Before she could speak Branch nodded. "Yeah, I saw quite a few as well. Most of them were older and they were ones that never liked me. It's not something that every troll will get used to in an hour, and I knew that. It will take time, but it seemed that most of the trolls understood what was needed. All I can hope for is that they give Rose space."
Barb nodded. "If anyone gives her any trouble, let me know." She crosses her arms. "Anyways, Carol and I are going to practice again tonight. Do you want to join Popcorn?" She looked over at her.
"Oh, i'd love to!" Poppy grinned, before turning to Branch. "Are you heading back home for the night?"
"Yeah, I think we will." He said, seeing a few trolls over her shoulder. "Have a good time. I'll see you later, or tomorrow morning. I know they sometimes run late into the night." He kissed her cheek, feeling Rose pat his head. He reached up and took her out of his hair. "Poppy has to go, but you will see her later." He told her as Rose frowned, looking at Poppy.
Poppy reached out and took her from Branch's arm. "I'll be back later, maybe around supper time or a little bit after. Okay?" She gave her a hug, feeling Rose's little arm hugging her back. After a minute Poppy placed her back in Branch's arm. Rose frowned, reaching towards Poppy. Poppy gently took her hand and placed her nose against Roses. Rose looked down at her nose, scrunching it slightly from the touch as Poppy took a step back. "I'll see you later Rose." She smiled, before turning around and starting pushing Barb along. "Quick. If I look back, I may not be able to leave." Barb looked at her confused as she heard whimpering, looking over her shoulder to see Rose reaching towards Poppy.
Branch looked down at Rose. "She will be back soon. Don't worry." He said, causing her to look up at him with a frown on her face. "There are some trolls over there who want to talk to me, and they may want to meet you. Would you be okay with that? There are only three of them." He turned her to see the three reggaeton trolls standing by the side of the mushroom. Rose looked at the other trolls, before looking back at Branch. "If you don't want to, you can stay in my hair and we can head back after I'm finished talking." Rose looked back at the trolls, before pointing to his hair. "Alright. You can stay up there, if you want to come out just let me know." He placed her in his hair and made his way towards the reggaeton trolls.
Tresillo was leaning against the mushroom with his arms crossed when he saw Branch walking towards them. He straightened up when Branch got closer. "Hey Branch."
"Hey." Branch replied, stopping a few steps in front of them.
An awkward silence fell upon them before Tresillo spoke. "So, that guest that is staying with you is the kid?"
Branch nodded. "Yeah, Rose is going to be staying with me for a while." He looked away, unsure of what they were thinking.
"How has she been adjusting? It's been a few days now." Tambora asked.
Branch could hear the concern in her voice. "She's settling in okay. She's still getting used to being underground." He replied.
"Why didn't you tell us that she was your guest?" Tresillo asked, causing the three of them to look at him.
"I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how you would react to her, or how she would react to other trolls knowing she was at my bunker. I was going to let you know before the speech but I ended up staying for the whole meeting." He explained.
Everyone fell silent as they looked at eachother. Tresillo soon broke the silence. "We're friends right?" He asked suddenly, surprising Branch.
Branch rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not sure where the talk was heading towards. "Yeah, we're friends." Branch confirmed, looking at him.
Tresillo took a few steps towards Brach, standing in front of him. "If there's anything you need, let us know. We all come from big families, so we have some experience with children." Tresillo held his hand towards him, a small smile on his lips.
Branch slowly lifted his hand and placed it in Tresillo. "Thanks man. I appreciate it." He smiled, shaking his hand. "You have experience with kids? I haven't seen you around any before." Branch asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
Tresillo shrugged. "Yeah, they're a lot of work so I tend to stay away from them. Tambora really likes kids. Marimba and I got tired of always babysitting our cousins, but if you help we will try our best. What are friends for, right?" He smiled.
Branch couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks Tresillo." Before Branch could say anything else, he froze slightly. He glanced up at his hair when he felt Rose moving in his hair. He felt her peek out of his hair, looking at the other trolls before going back into hiding.
"She's in your hair? Was she in there the whole time?" Marimba asked, taking a step closer.
"Yeah, she's been in there for a while. She's still shy around others." Branch replied.
"Could we meet her? If she's okay with it?" Tambora asked, looking up at his hair.
Branch looked up at his hair, waiting a moment to see what Rose wanted to do. Rose lifted her hand out of his hair and gave a quick wave before retreating her hand back into his hair. Branch has a small smile before taking a step back. "One minute." He told them before turning around and walked a few more steps away from them. "Hey Twig, come on out for a minute." He reached in, letting her grab his hand before helping her out of his hair. "Do you want to meet my friends? You don't have to, if you don't want to." He saw her fidgeting with her binder as she looked away slightly. "You don't have to, maybe another day." He gave her a smile.
Rose looked up at Branch, then glanced over at the other trolls who started talking to each other. Rose pointed to her hair, confusing Branch. She opened her binder and started writing. 'Hair.' She turned to show him, causing him to nod.
"Their hair is cool, isn't it? They're reggaeton trolls. The blue one is Tresillo, the orange one is Marimba, and the green one is Tambora." He saw Rose glance over at them once more. "Do you want to say hi? We can bring one over at a time, if that's easier?" Rose looked back at him and nodded. Branch could help but smile down at her. "I will be right here, and if it's so much just let me know. We can head to the bunker whenever you want." Rose took his hand and gave it a squeeze. She let go of his hand and held her bear tightly. "It will be okay. I'm right here if you need anything." He said, gently rubbing her back before he turned to the other trolls. "Could one of you come here?" He called out to them.
All three of them took a step. They all stopped and looked between each other. Both Tambora and Marimba took a step back. "Go on, we will wait." Tambora smiled as Tresillo nodded.
Tresillo walked over to Branch and sat down in front of him. Branch turned slightly, reaching behind him as a small head peeked from behind him. "Rose, this is Tresillo. Tresillo, this is Rose."
Tresillo looked over at Rose, who hid slightly behind Branch. "Hello little one." Tresillo said, giving her a smile. Rose stayed hiding behind Branch, waving at him.
Branch soon spoke to try and break the silence. "She thinks your hair is cool." He said, feeling Roses grip on him tighten.
Tresillo looked at Branch before looking back at Rose. "Oh, you like our hair? If Tambora hears that, she will want to do your hair." He said, seeing Rose come out a bit farther.
"Why don't we get Tambora over here? Is that okay Rose?" Branch asked her, seeing her nod slightly as she stayed behind him.
Tambora slowly walked over when she heard her name. She sat down next to Tresillo when she saw Roses grey hair. "You must be Rose. I'm Tambora. It's nice to meet you." She smiled at the child who peeked out from behind Branch. Rose gave her a small wave, which a Tambora returned.
Rose kept a grip on Branch's vest, looking up at him. "Come on out, it's okay." Branch whispered to her, smiling as he offered her his hand. Rose took his hand and squeezed it tightly before taking a step out from behind him.
"That's a cute bag, and a cute bear!" Tambora said, pointing to the binder at Roses side. Rose looked down at her bear, letting go of Branch's hand to pick up her bear that was in the pocket. She held her bear towards Tambora, showing off her bear. "Oh it's so cute, does your bear have a name?"
Rose nodded, taking another step towards her so she was standing in front of Branch. She pulled her binder up and turned to a page with Bebe written on it to show Tambora. "Bebe? That's such a nice name."
Rose nodded again, putting her binder back to her side and held her bear close to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose spotted Marimba's hands moving. She looked behind Tambora to see Maimba dancing by herself as she waited. Rose watched her for a moment, fascinated by the way Marimba's arms and legs moved as she danced. She reached back to tap Branch's leg to get his attention. Once she saw he was looking at her, she pointed to Marimba.
Branch looked over at Marimba, seeing her dancing. "Marimba is dancing, is that what you're pointing to?" Branch looked down to see Rose nodding.
Marimba stopped when she saw the others watching her. She started to head over when Branch motioned her over, sitting next to Tambora. "This is Rose, and this is Marimba." Branch told her.
"Hi La Niña." Marimba said, causing Rose and Branch to give her a confused look. Rose held up her book, pointing to her name written on the page.
The three reggaeton trolls looked at the paper and chuckled slightly. "La Nina is like a nickname. It means little girl." Tambora smiled down at Rose.
"Pequena is another nickname, meaning little girl as well." Tresillo explained. "It is more formal than La Niña."
Rose stared at them in surprise. She pointed to herself, seeing them nod as they assured her that the nicknames were for her. Rose quickly wrote in her book before holding it up. 'Twig.' She held it up to the others before showing Branch.
Branch looked down at Rose, nodding slightly. "Yeah, like Twig. Your nicknames." Branch told her as he saw the others looking at him. "I started calling her Twig the other day, I thought it was better than kid."
Tambora couldn't help but grin. "That is the cutest nickname!"
Marimba nodded, smiling as well. "That's a very fitting name." She said, before seeing Rose staring at her. "Um.." She mumbled quietly.
"I think she liked your dancing earlier." Branch explained, smiling at Marimba.
"Well, if you like that why don't we perform a song for you?" Tresillo offered as he stood up, Tambora and Marimba behind him. He walked a few steps away from Branch and Rose, stopped when he was a good distance away.
Rose watched with anticipation as they started dancing. Her eyes glued to the movement of the trolls, taking a step closer to watch them. Branch couldn't help but smile as he watched Roses ears perk up as she watched the reggaeton dance.
As the dancing came to an end, the three trolls were pointing to Rose. Rose jumped in surprise at the attention on her, taking a few steps back so she was on Branch's lap. Tresillo knelt down in front of her, causing Rose to look at him. "Next time, you will join us and be our big finish." Tresillos words shocked Rose. She stared at him, her mouth opened lightly as she brought her finger to her chest. "Yes you. Next time, Branch is going to join us and you will be our big finale. Okay?"
Rose looked up at Branch, seeing him nod slightly. She looked back at Tresillo and nodded sheepishly, hiding her face into Branch's arm. Branch stood up, holding Rose in his arms. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." Branch told them, seeing Rose trying to hide her yawn. "I think we're going to head back."
"You don't have to thank us." Tresillo said after standing up as well. "If you need help or anything, let us know."
"I will." Branch said, before rolling down at Rose. "Wave bye Rose. We're going to go back to the bunker now." He told her. Rose looked up slightly and waved to them, getting a wave from them in return.
"See you later La Niña." Tambora smiled at her as she waved.
Branch turned around as he made his way back to the bunker, not seeing the eyes that were watching them. Once Branch and Rose left, Tresillo turned with his arms crossed. "They're gone. You can all come out now." He said, hearing a giggle once he finished speaking.
"How long did you know we were there Tracey?" A voice came as five trolls walked out from the bushes.
Tresillo sighed at the nickname and ignored it. "The whole time. It's good you gave them space, all of us would have been too overwhelming for Rose to handle."
The girls were silent for a second. "We weren't sure if we should have or not, we didn't know what to expect." Ari explained, looking at the others.
"We want to be good friends and help, but most of us haven't been around my kids. Let alone one that has gone through something like this." Kim-Petit said.
"We all came from big families, we can give you some pointers on dealing with kids." Tambora offered.
Wani looked at her, then to Tresillo. "You're good with kids? You?" She raised an eyebrow as she stared at him.
"I always got stuck babysitting the little cousins. It happens when you're from a big family." He shrugged, seeing Wani take a step closer to him.
"Being good with kids is a good trait to have." Wani giggles slightly, seeing Tresillo trying to keep a straight face as blush creeped onto his cheeks. "I always wanted a big family." She whispered as she walked by him, keeping her back turned to him when he turned to face her. She could hear the other Kpop girls giggle as Tambora and Marimba rolling their eyes. "So, how do we help Branch and Rose? You three talked to them." She asked before Tresillo could say anything.
"Well…" Tambora smiled.
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Barb finished her guitar solo as the song came to an end, grinning as she saw Carol and Poppy looking at her. "Alright, let's take five before the next song." Barb put her guitar down and went to the fridge to get water. She looked over at Poppy out of the corner of her eye, seeing the pink queen checking her hug watch for the eighth time since they got to rehearsal.
Poppy looked up from her hug watch and smiled. "Can you hand me one as well?" She asked Barb, who tossed her a bottle of water.
Barb pretended to look at the time as she picked up a can of cheese. "Well, I didn't realize it was this late. I have stuff I have to go do, why don't we cut it short for today?" She tossed Carol the can of cheese before she could say anything.
"What do you have planned?" Poppy asked curiously.
"I have to retune my guitars and help my dad with some stuff later." Barb replied, taking a drink of her water.
Poppy was silent for a minute, looking at Barb as she heard Carol squeezing the can of cheese into her mouth. She looked over to see Carol was sitting on the couch, resting her head against the back of it. She looked back at Barb who was avoiding looking at her, leaning against the fridge as she drank her water. Poppy grinned. "Alright, I guess we can practice later. What about tomorrow?"
Barb glanced over at her. "We will see. I think I'm busy tomorrow." She said, her water still to her mouth. "Maybe next week or something. I'm sure you're busy with the kid and Boy Toy. They probably miss you or something. She really did not want you to leave earlier. You better hurry back." She walked over to the couch Carol was sitting on, standing in front of it as she turned to Poppy.
Poppys grinned widened as she quickly walked over and hugged Barb. "Aww, thanks Barb! I know both Rose and Branch will be happy to see me back earlier than expected."
"Yeah, yeah. Enough hugging." Barb said after a minute. "You really took a shine to her, huh? I know she took quite a liking to you." Barb smiled at her.
Poppy blushed slightly. "Yeah, she is a real sweetheart! And did the cutest thing with her nose when I said goodbye earlier, she scrunched it after I touched it with mine. She is so cute." Poppy grinned as she spoke, seeing Barb smirking. "What?"
"Nothing. Next time, bring the kid." Barb said, surprising Poppy.
"You want me to bring Rose?"
"Yeah, I'm sure bringing her will keep you less distracted then you today. She could even join in if she felt like it sometimes. How about it Carol?" Barb turned to Carol, seeing her shrug as she ate more of the cheese. "Carol agrees. Bring her next time, it will be cool!" Barb sat down on the couch next to Carol, crossing her legs as she relaxed.
Poppy thought for a moment before smiling. "I'll ask her and see what she says! Branch could get some alone time that way. Thanks you two." Poppy grinned, holding her arms out wide. She wrapped her arms around the two rock girls, getting loud groans in return. "You two will like it eventually!" She said as she let go, grinning as she picked up her stuff.
"Before you leave." Barb stopped her, still sitting on the couch. "I'm going to keep an eye out about those certain pop trolls who didn't like Branch's speech. I recommend keeping an eye on Branch and Rose in case anything happens as well. I know you don't like any sort of violence or bullying, but it's good to keep it in mind with Rose. Those particular Pop trolls looked like trouble to me and if they were bullies to Branch you can bet they will be trouble."
"To a child? Come on Barb it seems excessively mean to go from Branch to Rose," Poppy attempted to rationalize.
Barb licked her sharp teeth, "Any of those bullies have kids now? I would bet my guitar that some of those bullies taught their kids to avoid Grey Trolls. Branch's speech was important, but it also highlighted potential targets against Rose, Poppy." Barb stared straight into Poppy's eyes, and Poppy knew that Barb believed what she just said and she had a creeping fear she might be right.
Poppy stood stunned, "You really believe that? You honestly think some trolls would hold a grudge against Branch that long?"
Barb sighed, "You aren't listening, this has to do with Branch RAISING a grey child, like he himself was. Clearly, Branch is the best choice to parent, besides you, to Rose," Poppy couldn't help but blush in agreement, "but how many who bullied him think he might teach her the bad behaviours he couldn't control because of circumstances? Or even worse, which of the elderly ones still teach that greyness is contagious like an illness? Branch mentioned a Creek guy once would use his greyness to explain "negative energy" to convince others to leave him. That true?"
"Yes, but Creek was a village traitor and was undeserving of the trust he gained from the others... including the trust I personally and wrongly placed on him through his manipulation of me against Branch at times ... but Rose...?"
Poppy just couldn't wrap her head around what Barb was saying. Rose was sweet, curious, well-behaved and innocent. To be targeted because of being grey left her feeling colder to those trolls who might hurt in ignoring them at the speech; but a hot, white fire burst in her chest at the thought that just because Branch was raising Rose that he wouldn't do anything and everything to prevent Rose from going through what he had growing up just caused a burst of righteous anger against those who would question him.
Barb couldn't help but be amazed at the various emotions playing across Poppy's face. When it settled on rage, Brab decided she needed to de-escalate Poppy. "Anyways Pip-squek, we will keep our ears on the ground so we can stop things before they reach Rose, okay?" The soften tone of Barb snapped Poppy out of her anger. "We will do our best to handle things quickly quietly. Don't be surprised if some Rock trolls challenge a Pop troll to repeat something bad about "being Grey" and get into a fight over it. It's just how us Rock trolls keep harmful harassing down, we punch it out of them. So just ignore those complaints and we should be golden!"
"Barb!" Growled Poppy.
"Okay FINE! They will get challenges in an arm wrestling match and depending on what was said someone might get hurt," Barb sniffed unsympathetically.
Poppy sigh exasperated, "Just make sure the person actually disagrees with greyness and you aren't hurting people who just mention the fact that Rose is grey. Clearly common knowledge, so people will talk. But I guess having a couple sets of ears won't hurt. I just really don't want you guys hurting people who don't deserve it."
"Yeah, I see what you are laying down Poppy. I'll talk to the other rock trolls to show mercy, no one will get hurt unless it is absolutely necessary."
Poppy sighed again. "Thank you Barb." She looked at her, the corner of her lips lifting to a smile. "I really appreciate you looking out for Rose."
"Yeah, yeah. Go home already." Barb waved lazily as she relaxed more into the couch. "See ya later." She said as Poppy made her way back home.
