A/N: BroppyBriff, to answer your question, in this version of Trolls, several of the Snack Pack were old enough to remember a bit about their time in the Troll Tree, Biggie being one of them. He probably does know that Rosiepuff was Branch's grandma. According to Dreamworks' website, she took care of the younger trolls, so I figured Biggie would have known her in this story.
Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: We don't own Trolls.
The next morning found every troll gathered around Poppy and Branch, staring at the pair in shock. Poppy had rolled over in her sleep again, pressing herself against Branch. This time, however, she also had an arm draped over him.
"Do you think he's gonna like that, or...?" Cooper trailed off.
"Hmm... I don't know," DJ answered, looking concerned. "They look happy now, but..."
Being used to sleeping with noise around, Poppy didn't stir. Branch, however, did. The Snack Pack grew quiet as the gray troll opened his eyes to find Poppy's arm around him. He looked at her in confusion for a moment before fully registering what was going on.
"...Poppy!" Branch pulled away, sitting up. "Again!?"
The last time he woke up with Poppy that close, everyone freaked out and Smidge attacked him. Did she have to keep snuggling with him in her sleep? Not that he, personally, minded it, but it wasn't like he wanted to be attacked when he woke up in the morning.
This woke Poppy like nothing else could. She bolted upright, eyes wide in surprise. "Whoa! Gah! Branch, what's—" Seeing everyone staring, she cut herself off. "...Uuuh... What?"
Something about this scene looked familiar, and not in a good way. Did she do it again?
"Well, Poppy, I don't know how to say this, but you were holding Branch," Biggie told her.
Poppy's eyes widened in shock. "I what!?"
Rolling over to lie right beside the guy was one thing, but holding him? That was worse, and it was bound to elicit another round of unwanted ridicule and concern from everyone. Why did she keep doing this?
"You two are getting closer and closer each night," Satin said.
Chenille shook her head, thinking of the banishment, and said, "I don't think this is healthy."
"...Well, I—uh... That is..." Poppy stammered, shifting around awkwardly. She could feel herself blushing.
This wasn't good. Sure, everyone already knew about her crush, but the things it was causing her to do at night were just too much. Her subconscious mind must really be starved for more attention from her crush since it kept making her act inappropriately every night. What would she do next? Strip him down and—Ugh! She felt dirty just thinking about it! Maybe she really was a crazy stalker.
Branch got up and started packing in silence. The sooner they got moving, the better. He wasn't interested in sitting around and discussing Poppy's ridiculous behavior right now.
"Aw... That's so tight, ya guys," DJ said with a smile. "Poppy's totally flustered!"
Poppy blushed redder. This was so embarrassing, and it was just getting worse by the second. "N-no, I'm not! I-I just—"
Smidge sighed, looking down sadly. "Aw... It's too bad he's banished," she said, apparently disappointed. Then, excited, she added, "You two actually look real good together!"
"You two are adorable together," Satin agreed.
"I think you're the only one who could ever make him dance," Chenille added.
Poppy stared at them, shocked by this turn of events. What exactly were they saying? Did they somehow approve of this now? But, the last time she checked, they were barely able to tolerate Branch's existence! Besides that, they worried what would happen to her if he got too close. If their new attitude about her crush wasn't confirmation that they'd changed their minds about Branch, nothing was. After all, nothing says "I like the supposed criminal of Troll Village" quite like teasing him about his not-love life with your friend. Now if she could only get Branch to realize this...
As if they actually meant any of that, Branch thought. Yet every one of them started talking at the same time about how cute the not-couple was together. They would have kept going all morning, but Branch didn't want to hear it. He pulled out a tough and rather disgusting vegetable from the swamp—enough for everyone—and chose to take advantage of one of trolls' greatest weaknesses.
"Okay, guys, breakfast!" he said as he walked around, shoving this vegetable into everyone's hands. "Eat up, then we're out of here. Oh, and, if you want to stop for Hug Time every hour, go ahead, but I'm not waiting. We clear?"
Guy covered his nose, disgusted. That effectively shut him up. "Ugh... No, thanks, Branch. I think I'll have some of what Poppy brought for us instead..." And he dropped the vegetable on the ground and headed over to Poppy's pack.
DJ threw hers, eyes wide in terror. "I second that motion! Wait up!" she cried, running after Guy.
Creek, on the other hand, was examining the vegetable to see if it was edible.
"Yuck! This thing is #1 on my Vegetable No-No List!" Cooper said, although in truth he'd never seen...whatever that thing was. He tossed it and ran.
Satin and Chenille both looked at the food, then at each other. Then, to Chenille's surprise, Satin took a bite.
"What are you doing!? That's disgusting!"
Chewing the strange food, Satin said, "Actually it's not that bad."
"Well, I think I'll see what else we have to eat," Biggie said, handing the unknown food back to Branch before going to join the others.
Smidge tossed hers away, eyes wide, and ran after him, frantically crying, "Wait for me, wait for me, wait for me!"
"...Hmm... I wonder if this will be any good for the children...?" Creek asked, looking at the twins with a teasing grin.
Really, he wasn't fond of the unusual food, either, but it did look nutritious, and trollings needed nutrients. Thus, this little...whatever it was made the perfect object of payback for the way the twins had been acting lately.
"Well, mine doesn't want it," Chenille answered before dropping the vegetable and walking off.
Satin, on the other hand, kept eating hers as she and Chenille left.
Creek grinned, amused by Chenille's reaction. He followed them, still carrying his own, and said, "Aw, but, love, how can you be so sure? You're just the vessel, after all."
Poppy stared at Branch for a moment, wide-eyed. Then she gave him a lame look and asked, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Well, if you've taught me anything, Poppy, it's that nothing derails a conversation with trolls quite like vegetables."
She just stared at him with that same expression.
The morning was fairly peaceful after that, save the occasional annoying comment from members of the Snack Pack.
"So..." Guy said, "Branch... Have you thought more about getting back into Troll Village with us so you can be with...you know whooooo?" He gave a teasing smile.
"No," Branch answered flatly.
"Oh, but, Branch, you know Poppy feels the same way, don't you?"
"Biggie, why don't you worry about your own love life right now? It's like something out of a soap opera," Branch countered.
"He's right, Biggie!" Cooper agreed. "You and Guy should really stop. It's worse than Branch and Poppy denying their feelings!"
Branch had heard more than enough. He lashed out with his hair to whack Cooper.
"Ow!"
Guy gasped, eyes wide, and covered his mouth. "Oh, my!"
"Branch!" Biggie protested, shocked.
"Less talking, more walking," Branch told them.
"Oh, come oooon, Branch," Guy teased. "Cooper can't help it if it's true."
"Why do you suddenly want to talk to me so much?"
As much as this was a pleasant change, it didn't change the fact that Branch hated this topic. Besides, he wasn't sure he really wanted any of these guys talking to him.
Guy, Biggie, and Cooper grinned. It was almost as if they were enjoying teasing him all of a sudden.
"Oh...no reason..." Guy grinned mischievously and added, "Romeo." He laughed a bit, amused.
Biggie and Cooper laughed a bit, too, although both tried to stifle it.
Branch raised an eyebrow. This wasn't making sense. It wasn't like the way they'd been treating him up to this point, like some dangerous criminal they just had to put up with until further notice. This was more like the playful teasing these three had always given him (that he hated) before he'd been banished. It was...almost like things were actually going back to normal. But that couldn't be possible. Trolls just didn't like him, and he wasn't going to let himself be suckered into thinking they did.
So what was he missing?
While Branch was trying to figure that out, Poppy was wishing the other girls would get off her back.
Smidge, walking along beside her with a similar grin to Guy, said, "So, Poppy...about what happened this morning..."
Poppy threw her arms up over her head, throwing it back in frustration. "Arh! For the love of cupcakes, Smidge! Will you please let it go? I didn't even mean to do it!"
Seriously, it was an accident caused by her hidden, unwanted desires. She couldn't help it if she wasn't conscious to what was going on, could she?
"But you did," Satin pointed out with a sly smile.
"And Branch reacted better to you doing it than he would to anyone else, so he clearly has very strong feelings for you," Chenille added.
"Aarh! For the last time, you guys, it was just an accident," Poppy said, her frustration only increasing. "Honestly! You act like you can control what you do in your sleep! Sheesh!" She walked away from the girls, who all looked at each other and laughed.
What was with those guys, Poppy wondered? They were acting like she and Branch getting together would be a good thing. And, sure, she'd noticed how he seemed to be feeling for her, too, but he deserved better than her. Why couldn't they see she wasn't good enough for him? Why would an evil dictator who sent trolls to their inevitable deaths and left them there for accidentally endangering the royal bloodline ever be a good match for a selfless hero who'd give his own life to protect everyone, even if he didn't like them? Talk about mixing oil and water. Those two were polar opposites. It would never work out. Ever.
Branch, meanwhile, had temporarily given up worrying about what Biggie, Cooper, and Guy were doing. He held out a hand to halt the procession, listening intently.
While he tried to do that, Poppy walked up to him, exasperated, and said, "Arah! Honestly, Branch! I don't know—"
"Quiet!" he snapped.
Poppy jumped a bit and covered her mouth with both hands. She started looking around, listening as well. Every time Branch had said that on this trip, there was danger nearby. "What is it?" Poppy whispered, concerned.
Branch looked around, his ears twitching as he listened for trouble. "I'm not sure..."
Then they all heard loud, thudding footsteps heading their way, followed by a single, "Mew!"
Suddenly Branch knew what it was. "Kitty critter! Great."
He could handle a kitty critter. They were fairly harmless, just playful. That could still be dangerous for a troll since kitty critters were so much larger than them, but it wasn't as bad as it could be. He braced himself for a nonviolent confrontation, knowing full well that most of these guys wouldn't even react well to him knocking the critter unconscious.
Poppy gasped. "A what!?" She ran back to the others, cupping her hands around her mouth and frantically yelling, "GUYS! Blend in quick! A monster's coming!"
Everyone started running around in a blind panic, which really wasn't what she'd told them to do, but it was no less than what Branch expected of them.
"Calm down!" he called back. "It's not as bad as it could be. Just hide in your hair! I'll deal with it."
Nobody listened, too busy panicking. DJ ducked into some tall grass and shifted her hair, blending in. She also covered her eyes, not wanting to see what Branch might do to this animal. Fuzzbert disguised himself as a poisonous mushroom.
Because of the panic, nobody else had time to hide before the kitty critter reached them. It looked really happy to see them and started chasing Biggie and Mr. Dinkles. Biggie ran, screaming in panic. Not a single word he was saying was clear, although Branch thought he heard the worm's name.
"Typical trolls," Branch muttered, mildly frustrated. He pulled out a frying pan and threw it at the critter to get its attention.
The pan hit the cat in the side of the head, and it stopped, turning to Branch with curiosity. "Mew?"
Creek, meanwhile, guided the twins to some nearby rocks, frantically saying, "This way, ladies! Minimize your auras and blend in with these rocks!"
The three of them covered themselves in their hair, shifting it to a dull gray color that matched the rocks quite well. Biggie also took advantage of the critter's distraction to hide, ducking under a mushroom and blending in with the rocks around it. Cooper scurried over to a nearby tree and pressed himself against it, fanning his hair out over himself and trying to make himself look like moss growing on the tree trunk.
"Here, kitty, kitty," Branch taunted. "Come on, you'll have more fun with me than him."
The kitty critter brightened up, its tail wagging slightly, then gave a more nasty look as it moved to pounce the gray troll.
Nearby, disguised as mossy rocks, Poppy, Guy, and Smidge watched on. Poppy gasped. "Branch! Look out!"
There were very few times when Branch found toys of any real use, but this just so happened to be one of those times. He pulled a bright orange ball out of his bag, which he then tossed aside. Then he held the ball up, waving it for the critter to see. The kitty critter stopped and stared at it curiously.
"Mew?"
"No! What are you doing, Branch!?" Poppy complained as she watched. Playing with a deadly beast was the stupidest thing anyone could do! She thought he was smarter than that! "You can't just—" She slapped her head, frustrated. "Grah! That's it, I'm going out there!" She shifted her hair back to normal, retracting it, and ran right at the kitty critter, a glare on her face.
Smidge and Guy came out of hiding, looking worried. "Poppy! Noooo!" they cried.
"Come on! We gotta help her!" Smidge said with determination as she ran after her friend, beckoning for Guy to follow.
"Right!" Guy agreed as he, equally as determined, gave chase.
"H-hey! W-what's happenin', ya guys!?" DJ asked, still covering her eyes. "I thought Branch told everyone to hide!"
"He did! But Poppy doesn't listen so good!" Cooper answered.
"And Guy and Smidge are going after her!" Satin added.
"How are you not seeing this!?" Chenille demanded of DJ.
Uneasy, she answered, "I-I'm not lookin', ya guys! I don't wanna see what Branch will do!"
Creek thought about it for a moment. It did make sense, considering what Poppy had told them Branch had done to the mother bird ten years ago and the growlbeasts days ago. The way he'd handled the bergens served as further proof that Branch was a very violent troll. But there was one detail that, for some reason, seemed a little off this time...
"Fair, point, but..." He looked at Branch, curious.
The expectation was that Branch would turn violent when faced with any threat, yet he seemed ready to play with the kitty critter. That...didn't seem quite right. Creek couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening here. Should he cover his eyes and hide as well, or would this actually turn out alright? And, if it did, why? Branch didn't generally play with his enemies.
Branch, meanwhile, didn't notice the situation with Poppy. He was focused on distracting the kitty critter. If he could get it interested in chasing the ball, he could send it off, then lead the others away in a different direction. He just had to throw the ball far enough that the kitty critter wouldn't come back too soon.
"Yeah, you want the ball, don't you?" Branch asked, waving it some more. "Go get it!" He wound up to throw the ball, but he never got the chance.
"Get away from him!" Poppy cried angrily.
The kitty critter turned toward her. "Mew?"
Branch stopped and looked—Poppy was running straight at the kitty critter. "Poppy! No! Get out of here!"
She'd mess everything up. She didn't know how to get rid of a kitty critter. He could have this dealt with in a second if she'd just leave him be.
But she didn't listen. She ran right up to the kitty critter and struck it with her hair. The critter cried out in pain before looking at her with apparent excitement. It went after her next.
Great, now she was a fun toy. That was exactly why Branch didn't want to fight the kitty critter if he could help it. Anything that attacked them was something fun to play with. A distraction was always a safer bet, even if he could take this thing. He knew nobody wanted to see that. So much for dealing with this quickly.
Branch hit the critter with his own hair. He wasn't going to let it get Poppy, that much was certain. It stopped and looked over its shoulder at him.
"Mew?"
"Poppy, you're making this harder than it needs to be!" Branch complained.
And then Smidge and Guy joined the fun. Looking crazed, Smidge leaped onto the kitty critter's back with a battle cry. She grabbed its ears, riding it like it was some kind of bull.
Poppy's eyes widened. "Smidge!"
Guy stopped momentarily, watching in horror. "Smidge!" He slammed his eyes shut and charged in for a headbutt. "NNOOOOOO!" He slammed his head into the kitty critter's front leg, trying to knock it over so Smidge could get off.
"No, you guys! Stop!" Poppy called, holding out a hand. "That won't solve this! Hey!" She ran toward the critter as Smidge kept pulling its ears and Guy attempted to dodge its trampling feet, his charge having succeeded only in knocking him down.
The kitty critter spun around in circles, trying to dislodge the attacking troll as it mewed unhappily.
And chaos ensued. Poppy whipped at the kitty critter with her hair, it swatted her hair with its paws, and Guy sprayed a lot of glitter as he seemingly tried to scare the critter off with glitter in the face. The whole time, the kitty critter kept mewing and swatting at both Poppy and Guy, and Smidge kept howling.
"H-hey! What's goin' on now!? Is everyone alright out there!?"
This was completely ridiculous. This was absolutely unnecessary. This was going to make Branch scream if he had to keep dealing with these guys. Suddenly he was glad he couldn't go back to Troll Village. He'd almost forgotten how dumb trolls could be.
"Oh, for the love of—" Deciding to deal with one problem at a time, he tackled Poppy to the ground, saying, "Don't get up. Get out of sight. I mean it."
Poppy couldn't believe him. How could he be telling her not to help when he clearly needed it? Branch's need to protect everyone alone was just too much sometimes. He'd get himself killed if he kept doing that.
"But, Branch! I—"
Suddenly Smidge cried out in terror. "OH, MY GAAAAA!"
The twins gasped.
"Oh, no! Smidge!" Biggie cried in fear.
"What!?" DJ asked, still refusing to look.
Branch looked, however. And he saw the problem immediately. Somehow the kitty critter had gotten Smidge off its head and now held her in its mouth by the hair. It shook her around rather roughly, enjoying its new "toy."
Poppy gasped, her eyes widening in horror. "Oh, no. Smidge!" With a sudden burst of adrenaline, she shoved Branch off, scrambled to her feet, and ran for the kitty critter again, frantic this time.
Branch crashed to the ground, slightly startled that Poppy had actually managed to shove him that hard. "Poppy! Are you listening to me!?" He got up and ran after her. She was going to get herself hurt if she didn't stop.
Then Guy leaped up onto a rock and reached his hair out for Smidge, glaring at the kitty critter as he called, "Smidge! Grab my haaair!"
Smidge reached for Guy's hair, struggling desperately to reach it. She was inches away when the critter swatted Guy to the ground playfully. It held him there with one paw, looking pleased with itself.
"Gwaaahh! L-let go, you horrible, cuddly fiend!" he cried, wiggling and struggling under the critter's paw.
"Guy, no!" Poppy cried before lunging at the critter herself.
The kitty critter happily swatted her as well, sending her flying into a tree. She slammed hard into it and slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Aw, man! Now what's happenin'!? 'Cause it sure don't sound good!"
"Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my!" Biggie panicked.
Nobody really answered DJ's question, although Chenille wished she would just look already.
"Okay, that's it!" Branch yelled. Smidge and Guy were one thing, but that cat was not going to hurt Poppy. Not on his watch. He threw a rock at the kitty critter, hitting it in the head once again. "That's not a toy! Drop it and get out of here, you dumb cat!"
The kitty critter cocked its head, confused. Then it lowered its head and grabbed Guy in its mouth before taking off with both Smidge and Guy. The two trolls screamed in terror as they were carried away.
"H-hey! Someone care to fill me in on what's happenin', or am I just expected to suddenly know?" DJ asked, growing slightly annoyed.
Cooper obliged, "Well, DJ, Smidge attacked the kitty critter, then Guy attacked it, then Branch pounced Poppy, then the kitty critter got Smidge, then it got Guy, now Poppy's out cold and Branch is mad!"
That about summed it up, he figured.
"What!?" DJ cried, shocked. That almost sounded like Branch was the one who knocked Poppy out, mad at her for some reason. That can't be right, c-can it...?
Branch did sound pretty steamed right now, as if he felt the others were getting in his way. Maybe he'd knocked Poppy out to protect her? But that still didn't sound right to DJ. Branch would never hurt the girl he loved on purpose, so what was going on out there? Then there was the situation with Guy and Smidge. Overall, it just didn't sound good. She was about to look, but...
"Oh, no, Poppy!" Biggie cried, seeing a new threat looming.
A black bird with a green star shaped mark around its left eye had come flying over with a screech, drawn by the commotion. It was now looking at Poppy as though seeing its next meal.
"We have to help her!" Satin said. After all, the last time a bird had attacked Poppy, Branch hadn't been any help.
Branch glared at the bird. He recognized it—it was one of the babies, now fully grown.
"Huh!? What!?" DJ cried. "What's happenin'!? Did I hear what I think I did!?"
And still she refused to look.
"Don't look, love!" Creek instructed. "There's a vicious-looking black bird out there!"
"What!?" DJ asked. She briefly contemplated the idea of taking a peek. Ultimately she decided to heed Creek's advice and remain blind to the situation. It just sounded too awful, and part of her didn't really want to know. She figured it was better to be safe than sorry.
"One of you, huh?" Branch asked. He ran over to Poppy, lashing out at the bird with his hair as he went. "Get back!"
He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Sure, he hated birds. Yes, they terrified him. But he'd learned a long time ago not to let fear control him. That was what had gotten him banished in the first place. And, more importantly, it had almost gotten Poppy killed.
No creature on this planet was going to kill that princess. Not if Branch had any say in it.
The bird flapped its wings defensively before diving straight for Branch. Its mouth was open, ready to snatch him up.
Standing protectively over Poppy, Branch struck the bird with his hair. He was careful to avoid the beak, remembering when the mother had snatched at his hair years earlier. He struck the bird hard enough to make it hesitate in its approach, forcing it to dodge his repeated strikes.
"I said, get back! You're not getting anywhere near Poppy! Not if I can help it!"
As the bird kept dodging his attacks, the Snack Pack (minus DJ) watched in awe.
"Oh...my goody gumdrops... He's actually fighting it for her," Creek said, stunned.
"Who's fightin' it!? And who're they fightin' it for!?" cried a very lost DJ who really should have just looked if she wanted to know so badly.
"Ah... Well, Branch is...taking on a bird single-handed," Biggie explained briefly.
"What!?" Silently, DJ wondered, What happened to Guy and Smidge, then? Did they lose that kitty critter and run and hide?
"He knocked out the growlbeasts!" Chenille panicked. "What do you think he'll do to a bird!?"
"It's probably better if we don't think about that!" Satin answered.
"Got it! Then I ain't lookin'!" DJ said.
Thus she would continue to be confused.
"Wow, I did not see that coming!" Cooper said. "Branch is actually fighting a bird! This reminds me of that one time I—"
"Cooper!" the twins cried. They didn't want to hear one of his ridiculous stories right now. Couldn't he tell this was a bad time?
"What?"
Apparently not.
The bird quickly grew bored with its battle with Branch and flew off to the side, crying out loudly. Two more birds appeared then, both with green lines across their wings. The other two chicks.
Branch remained over Poppy. He grabbed a stick off the ground and struck it against the tree behind him, lighting it like a match.
Satin fidgeted, not eager to see any creature get hurt. "Oh, please tell me he isn't going to—"
"Not gonna what?" DJ asked nervously. Whatever Branch was up to now really didn't sound good.
The three birds seemed a bit nervous at first, but then two swooped off to the sides while the third moved in a zigzagging pattern toward Branch. The gray troll wrapped one arm around Poppy's waist, picking her up a bit awkwardly, as he waited for the right moment to move.
Suddenly the zigzagging bird lunged, talons pointed straight at him. The other two birds charged in from either side. Branch tossed his flaming stick at the bird in front, then grabbed a tree branch above with his hair and pulled himself and Poppy out of the way of the birds. As the first bird was burned, it cried out in pain and fell from the sky. Its siblings headbutted each other and fell to the ground as well.
Biggie covered Mr. Dinkles's eyes and closed his own. "Don't watch, Mr. Dinkles!"
"Dang! That bad, huh!?"
Cries of pain from birds and Biggie deciding he didn't want to watch anymore combined to convince DJ she'd made the right choice in refusing to look. If Biggie was that bothered, there was no way she wouldn't be.
Branch looked at the tree trunk, hoping for a place to hide Poppy, at least. He saw no knotholes conveniently located and large enough to hide her, so he was stuck fighting birds and protecting her at the same time. Looking at the branches, he saw some fruits about the size of a troll that he figured he could use as ammunition.
The two birds who had collided with each other recovered and flew up after the trolls. The third remained on the ground, apparently still recovering. Branch set Poppy down and started grabbing the fruit with his hair, throwing it at the birds. He hoped to knock them out of the sky, but they dodged each time and kept right on coming.
Seeing how pointless this was, Branch picked up Poppy bridal style and moved to find a better location to make his stand. He set Poppy down on a different branch, grabbed a nearby tree limb, and pulled it back. When one of the birds flew too close, he released it, hitting the bird and knocking it out of the sky.
However, he had now lost sight of the third bird.
Down below, the others all watched in horror as another bird was injured.
"O-oh, my h-holy haircuts... Th-that poor, defenseless c-creature..." Creek stammered. He started trembling, hands held to his chin.
Violence wasn't a normal part of their lives. While they understood it was necessary in this situation, that didn't mean they wanted to witness it, nor did it make them any more comfortable with the idea.
"I wouldn't call it 'defenseless,' but that is pretty messed up," Cooper said.
"D-do I even want to know...?" DJ asked, unnerved. She figured the answer was no and was, therefore, quite glad when no one answered that question.
"It doesn't sound good..." Biggie said, still refusing to watch himself.
"Meep!" Mr. Dinkles complained. He wanted Biggie to move his finger so that he, at least, could see what was going on.
Branch picked Poppy up once again and looked around, trying to locate the final bird. "Where is it?"
A screech from his right caught him off guard. When he looked, he saw the bird lunging at him, talons first. There wasn't enough time to get out of the way. If he didn't do something quick, both he and Poppy would be done for.
He took half a step forward and turned his body, moving just out of range of the bird's grip and keeping its talons away from the princess in his arms. The talons scratched up his back, legs, and the left side of his body as it passed. Branch cried out in pain as the shock of this attack made him drop Poppy. Almost immediately, he reached out with his right arm and caught her before she could fall off the branch. His eyes then snapped back to the bird, watching for the threat.
He didn't even have time to catalog his injuries. The moment he looked, the bird had already circled back around, its beak open wide to snatch him up.
He hadn't realized until that moment that the creature was so much bigger than him. He let Poppy go, hoping she'd fall to a branch below—her chances for survival were better that way than with him. The bird snatched him up in its beak, devouring him whole, from the view of the audience below.
Satin screamed in horror.
"I-it just ate him!" Chenille exclaimed, eyes wide.
"A-a-ate w-who, g-guys!?" DJ stammered. What's goin' on out there!? I haven't even heard what's goin' down with Smidge and Guy! D-did they get attacked by that bird, too!?
"I don't know, DJ, I'm not looking!" Biggie cried in sheer terror. "And neither should you! It sounds like it's only gotten worse, and it was already awful!"
"What!? But—"
"Hold on, pals!" Creek cried. "Look!"
DJ and Biggie both chose not to follow this simple instruction. Biggie was too afraid to look, and DJ took his advice. Everyone else, however, looked up at the situation.
While the Snack Pack had been panicking down below, Branch had pulled his machete from its sheathe and jabbed it into the bottom of the bird's mouth. It cried out in pain, opening its beak, and Branch jumped out. Immediately he struck it with his hair, knocking it down onto the branch he'd landed on. He then pulled a mallet from his hair and hit the bird as hard as he could in the head.
The black bird with the star-shaped marking went limp on the branch, dead.
Satin and Chenille gasped.
"N-n-n-no way..." Creek stammered, horror-struck.
Down below, the other two birds recovered and flew away. They could tell this wasn't a meal worth fighting for.
Cooper stared, stunned. He wasn't sure which was more traumatizing—what Branch did to that bird, or what had almost happened to Branch and Poppy. In his terror, he dropped several cupcakes. If this was what Branch's daily life was like these days, then Cooper now wanted to bring the gray troll home for his own good.
Seeing the other two birds take off, Branch took a moment to catch his breath. Then he remembered. "Poppy..." He looked down below, hoping she hadn't fallen too far, hoping she wasn't hurt worse than she already had been. Seeing her on a branch just below him, he cried, "Poppy!" and dropped down to check on her. "Poppy, come on, wake up," he said, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her a bit.
Poppy moaned and slowly opened her eyes. She looked disoriented, but she was alive. That was the important thing. He'd worry about the rest in a minute.
"Urgh... B-Branch...?"
Branch sighed, relieved. Not only was she alive, but she was responsive. "Poppy! Are you okay?"
She weakly put a hand to her head and answered, "Ohhhh... My head hurts... Smidge and...G-Guy...?"
"The kitty critter took off with them."
Poppy bolted upright, horrified. "WHAT!? OW!"
Maybe she shouldn't have done that. As soon as she did, a sudden pain flared up in her back and head. She grabbed both.
"Poppy!" Branch put a hand on her arm to calm her before she could hurt herself worse. "It's okay. Kitty critters are playful but harmless. They'll be okay. We'll find them."
Poppy stared at the hand on her arm, noticing something off. There was a sparkly, magenta liquid trailing down it in lines...a familiar magenta liquid...
Her eyes widened in sheer terror as she realized what it was—blood. She grabbed Branch's shoulders, panic-stricken as she saw more marks on his side and legs. His vest and shorts were both torn and stained with his blood, blood that was currently giving color to a usually colorless troll. Branch let out a hiss at her touch.
"Oh, my bergens, Branch! What happened to you!?" She let go quickly, terrified. That was way too much blood, too many wounds... This was terrible! She wondered if the kitty critter had gotten him. Was it because he'd needed to defend her? This was all her fault!
Trolls only used that exclamation in extreme cases. Everyone knew something was seriously wrong when a troll said that. Branch looked down at himself. As the adrenaline faded, he was starting to notice the intense pain he was in, but seeing himself covered in blood, his eyes widened.
"Uh..." He didn't really know how to answer that. It got me that bad?
Suddenly Poppy got up and grabbed his right arm. It seemed unharmed, after all. "Oh, bergens, Branch! Hold on! We'll get that looked at, quick!"
She scooped him up in her hair, still looking freaked out. His blood stained her hair as she leaped from the tree.
This was her doing, it had to be. How else had they wound up hiding in a tree together? She'd gotten Branch hurt by not being careful and lost Guy and Smidge to the unfriendly beast all at once! Forget the fact that she was the only troll in her family who was fully against a banishment death sentence—she was doing a fine job killing trolls without it.
Branch winced in pain. "Agh!"
"BIGGIE! CREEK! I need a hand here!" Poppy cried as she hopped from branch to branch, making her way down out of the tree. She held Branch in her hair, tightly enough that she hoped the bleeding would stop. Maybe, if she could just stop the bleeding, she could save one of them. Sure, Branch said kitty critters were harmless, but she didn't know how to find it.
Biggie finally opened his eyes, retracting his hair. Seeing Poppy with blood in her hair, he let out a cry and ran over to help. The twins lowered their hair and moved forward, looking at Branch with concern. Fuzzbert, Creek, and Cooper all shifted their hair back to normal as well, and Creek looked at the scene with intense worry as he ran over to lend a hand.
"What!? What is it!? I can't see a thing!" DJ asked, worried once again. She was still hiding.
"The danger's gone, DJ," Satin said. "But...Branch is..."
Poppy landed on the ground and carefully lay Branch down on the grass, her hair stained by his blood. Meanwhile Creek ran over to help, and DJ finally came out of hiding and looked. She immediately wished she hadn't.
Branch was a mess. His legs and left arm were covered in blood, and his shorts and vest were stained with the magenta fluid as well. Fortunately, as he lay there on the grass, Poppy didn't see any blood pooling around him, so she hoped that meant she'd been successful. She hoped he wasn't losing more blood. She hoped the damage wasn't so bad that they couldn't take care of it. Branch might have been able to perform surgery on himself, but she doubted any of her friends could do it for him.
If the damage was more than surface-level, there wasn't much they could do for him. And they didn't know where the others were.
He'd die. And it would be all her fault. She'd never forgive herself if Branch died because of her. Never.