A/N: Alright, time to get away from that cliffhanger last chapter. Enjoy! We don't own Trolls.
Branch lay there on the ground, covered in blood. His vest was ripped to shreds and stained with the magenta liquid. Everyone gathered around, watching with worry. Most stayed back a bit so those who were tending to the wounded could do their job.
Poppy was in a bad state emotionally. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this. Branch had, apparently, gotten hurt protecting her. If he died from this attack, she'd never forgive herself. Part of her wondered if this was somehow because of the banishment. If Branch had stayed in Troll Village, would any of this have ever even happened? Would he have seen the threat coming and guided everyone to safety? Given how Branch felt about parties, he might not have been around to notice the attack. Maybe, instead, Poppy would have gone to his bunker to ask for his help. She'd have found him a lot sooner, that was certain. She could even have hid the other trolls there. Maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to make friends with the bergens. Maybe they could have gotten home safer, easier, quicker.
If any of that were true, then Poppy knew she could take full responsibility for Branch's current state. She'd gotten him banished in the first place by not listening to him when he said he didn't want to go to her party, by being so forceful about the matter.
...If he died...her death would follow shortly after. And just when things had been looking up. Her friends had been more kind, Branch wanted to go back to Troll Village. She'd almost brought him home, but now...
She hovered next to Branch, standing near his head and feeling panicked, as Creek and Biggie reached the two of them.
Creek knelt down beside Branch, looking at him with concern, and asked, "Branch? Friend, tell me. How bad does it hurt, and where?"
Poppy hovered over Creek's right shoulder as Biggie came up beside Creek on the left.
"It doesn't hurt that bad, really," Branch answered. Sure, it hurt more than any of them would be able to tolerate, but he'd been through much worse than this. "I think it mostly got my left arm and back. There's medical supplies in my pack."
Biggie grabbed Branch's bag with his hair and pulled it over, kneeling down beside the gray troll. "Let me see what you've got, then," he said as he opened the bag and started rummaging through.
While he did that, Creek closed his eyes and concentrated, reading Branch's energy as he gently touched various places to check the extent of the damages. If anything vital was damaged on the inside, he intended to find out.
Biggie, meanwhile, found a variety of surprises within Branch's bag. Glass cutter, bolt cutters, flashlight, berries... He stopped, looking down into the bag at the orange berries for a moment. They looked much more appetizing than anything Branch had actually offered them to eat. Well, that's just rude, Branch! Keeping those for yourself! He mentally slapped himself. Okay, Biggie, now's not the time for that! Where are the first aid supplies? He rummaged around some more and found a glass jar full of some apparently pickled...something. Well, that isn't what I'm looking for. I'm not even sure what it is.
He didn't want to ask, either.
Finally he found a small box with a first aid symbol on it. He pulled it out.
In the time it took Biggie to find the medical supplies, Creek examined Branch's entire being with whatever bizarre powers he had (nobody had ever bothered asking how he did it, but they knew he was the next best thing to a doctor). When he finished, he opened his eyes, looking quite calm. "Hmm... It doesn't look too bad, mate. A few scratches up your left arm and your legs, three long, thin ones across your back. But nothing to really fuss over." He turned to Biggie and said, "Best to just clean them and bandage them afterwards, my friend."
"Understood. Thank you, Creek," Biggie said. He opened the box and found some ointment, gauze, and bandages.
DJ, Poppy, Fuzzbert, Satin, and Chenille all sighed in relief, and DJ placed a hand over her heart.
Poppy was extremely glad to hear that. So she hadn't killed Branch after all! Although this didn't change the fact that it was all, most likely, her fault. Smidge and Guy had been taken, and Branch was hurt. She had, apparently, caused all of this by not listening to Branch. She really needed to stop doing that. Sure, he could be paranoid at times and a bit overprotective, but he wasn't an idiot. She should've known he knew how to handle that situation! If she'd just let him handle it...
Now that she knew Branch was okay, Poppy was starting to calm down. As the adrenaline wore off, she became fully aware of her own injuries and felt sore and tired. Had she been hit that hard? She felt like she'd not only slammed her back into a tree but like she'd fallen on her injured back from up high. Her head was starting to spin a bit, too...
While Poppy realized that her condition was scarcely any better than Branch's everyone else was oblivious to this, too focused on the visibly harmed troll.
"Thank goodness!" said Cooper, relieved to hear that Branch would be okay.
"That's a relief. Thought for sure the dude was a goner after...whatever happened up there," DJ said, looking up at the tree with curiosity. She didn't even know when anyone had gone up there.
Creek turned back to Branch and gave him a reassuring and somewhat smug look as he said, "You're very fortunate our lovely princess stopped the bleeding for you, mate. Otherwise who knows how bad this could have turned out?"
Biggie helped Branch sit up, and Creek pulled out some herbal medicine of his own that he thought would help relieve the pain. While the two applied the medicine to Branch's wounds, Branch looked at Creek, slightly startled, then looked at Poppy.
Was he really hurt that bad? If he was lucky Poppy had stopped the bleeding, how deep were his wounds? He knew they couldn't be too bad—he didn't feel as weak as he had after that swamp monster had attacked him. Then again, that had been the most extreme wound he'd ever been dealt, so it might not be the best way to gauge his current health.
Poppy was just glad to hear that she'd managed to stop the bleeding. From the sound of things, if she hadn't, Branch could have died. But, right now, she was too sore and tired to spend much time thinking about that. All that mattered was that she'd saved his life after nearly costing him his life. At least she'd managed to fix that one. If they could both live another day, she could now pass out in peace.
Her arms went limp as she stood there, catching her breath. Her eyelids were growing heavy as she started swaying back and forth. Once again, preoccupied with Branch, nobody noticed.
"You did good, Poppy!" Cooper told her happily. "I mean, Branch got ripped up pretty bad! If you hadn't stopped the bleeding, he'd probably be—"
"Ugh!" Too exhausted to stay awake after all the stress, Poppy fell flat on her back. She was out like a light.
The Snack Pack gasped and turned their attention to her next. Even Creek and Biggie looked away from their current patient, their eyes wide with worry.
"Poppy! Oh, not good!" Creek cried, anxiously running over to check on her.
"H-hey," DJ said, realizing something. "Wait a sec, ya guys? Why hasn't Smidge come out to help Poppy? Weren't she and Guy both off hidin' somewhere?" She looked around frantically for the two, now worried about them as well. At this very moment, Smidge should have been panicking right beside Poppy. Yet she was conspicuously absent.
Branch started trying to get up. He knew Poppy was hurt, and she was his primary concern. Sure, his wounds were bad, but he'd had worse and survived. Besides, given what had happened to Poppy in the last 20 minutes, she could have a brain hemorrhage, for all he knew.
"Is she okay?" Chenille asked Creek.
Creek knelt beside her and started checking her over, the same way he'd been checking Branch. For the moment, he ignored Chenille's question as he worked on figuring out the answer.
"Oh, no, Poppy!" Biggie worried.
That was when someone finally noticed that Branch wasn't staying still. "Meep!" Mr. Dinkles said, telling Biggie to keep an eye on the other injured troll.
Biggie turned his attention back to Branch to see that the gray troll had managed to get himself into a kneeling position, one foot flat on the ground. He was grimacing as if he was in pain, which, Biggie realized, he probably was.
"Branch!" Biggie gently took hold of Branch's shoulders, earning a slight wince from the gray troll. "We're not finished yet. Just hold still." He tried to push Branch back down with no success.
"How's Poppy?" Branch asked Creek.
The others gathered around Poppy now, still worried, as Creek finished his examination. He was now checking her physically rather than spiritually, turning her onto her side ever so gently so he could get a look at the back of her head and neck. The lack of any blood staining the back of her dress was reassuring.
DJ kept looking around for the two missing trolls, growing more and more worried. Where could those two be at a time like this?
Soon Creek grinned, looking amused as he got to his feet. "Well, other than a few minor bruises, she appears to be thoroughly exhausted." He pulled a pillow out of his hair and lay it beside Poppy's head before gently rolling her back onto her back. Her head landed on the pillow, as intended.
"So you mean she's..." DJ trailed off, hopeful. She was wringing her hands in front of her.
Creek gave them all a teasing grin as he answered, "Branch is heavier than he looks. And especially after so much stress and getting knocked unconscious. You may wish to consider losing some weight, my friend."
Relieved, Cooper laughed. DJ sighed, putting a hand to her chest again. Two close calls in one day were more than enough for her heart. Fuzzbert slouched over, sighing in relief. This day was barely even started, yet he was already worn out! Branch rolled his eyes but didn't respond. He finally let Biggie sit him back down.
Satin whispered in Chenille's ear, "He calmed down quickly, didn't he?"
"Well, of course," Chenille whispered back. "Poppy's okay. That's all he wanted to know."
"Yeah, but what about Smidge and Guy?" DJ asked again. "Those two still haven't appeared, and Poppy just..." She looked at Poppy, her concern growing.
The twins took pity on her and started filling her in on all the details she missed while not watching.
"Alright, Branch, let's get you all taken care of," Biggie said, fanning his hair out around himself and Branch. This treatment would involve stripping, given the locations of the wounds, so he wanted to protect Branch's privacy.
"Right," Branch answered. "Then we can go after Guy and Smidge."
He may not have liked them, but he'd promised Poppy he'd get everyone home safely. Everyone included Smidge and Guy Diamond. Besides, it was his fault they were in that situation in the first place. He didn't manage to get rid of the kitty critter.
"I wouldn't worry about that just now, Branch. You're not in any shape to be chasing down predators, after all," Biggie countered. "Let's get you lying down on your belly. I'll have to roll up your pant legs a bit, if that's alright?"
He gently coaxed Branch into lying on his stomach on the grass as the gray troll grunted in apparent approval, then Biggie rolled up the legs of his pants a bit. Fortunately the bird hadn't made much contact with Branch's pants, just tearing through the bottoms of the legs and the very top of the waist. Biggie started applying some antibacterial ointment to the scratches on Branch's legs.
"Well, I can't just leave them there, Biggie! Kitty critters might not eat trolls, but those two could still get hurt by it!"
Okay, this situation was clearly not going away on its own. Regardless of how they'd treated him, Branch was still worried about the others. Biggie couldn't help but feel guilty for his earlier comments. Where did he get off saying that Branch wasn't very helpful? He'd just been ripped to pieces trying to save them!
Needing to calm Branch down—and stop the guy from running off and hurting himself worse—Biggie put down the ointment and said in a soothing tone, "I know, Branch, I know." He put a hand on Branch's right shoulder. "But you're no good to anyone if you run yourself ragged trying to help everyone. You should rest for a bit, and then we can go after them together."
No, Branch had to go after them now. He'd already been forced to leave them, thanks to the birds. He couldn't just let those two be taken away!
He started, "Biggie—"
"No, Branch. Taking care of yourself is just as important as helping others. We're all worried about you, Branch. We don't want to see you get hurt."
Branch gave a start before looking over his shoulder at Biggie. He waited for the snort of laughter or the eye roll, some sign that this was a sick joke. Yet none came. Biggie seemed sincere when Branch looked at him. Even better, Biggie carefully removed Branch's vest, trying not to aggravate his wounds.
He was being gentle. He said he was worried.
Taking care of myself is important? So he doesn't think that's selfish? What's he mean they're all worried about me? Why would they be? Branch thought about it for a second, recalling everyone's reactions. Well, yeah, Creek seemed concerned, and Satin looked really upset, and DJ... So some of them are worried about me...
He was surprised that it actually felt so good to have people be concerned about him. Not that he wanted to worry anyone, but...it was nice having people care what happened to him. It had been awhile since anyone had.
While Branch was coming to this realization, Biggie applied medicine to the wounds on Branch's back. As he did this, he couldn't help but notice a jagged, rough scar on Branch's left side, worse than any of the other marks on his body. Th-that's...where the troll in his story was hit... Oh, dear. That story was true!? No, no, of course not. Branch said he made it up!
He decided not to think about this anymore. He also swore never to mention it to anyone.
"...I know my limits, Biggie, and we haven't hit them yet," Branch said. "If anything else attacks after we save Guy and Smidge, I probably won't be up for that. But I can handle one little kitty critter. You know we can't just leave them there. If I don't go after them, Poppy will when she wakes up, and that didn't go well the first time!"
Seriously. Him attacking a kitty critter was one thing. Anyone else doing it would just turn into a teaser toy. It was bad enough kitty critters always tried to use trolls as chew toys. Trolls didn't need to go giving the filthy beasts more ideas!
While Branch talked, Biggie applied some of Creek's ointment to the wounds on Branch's back. By the time Branch finished his argument, Biggie was gently shifting the gray troll into a sitting position so he could wrap some bandages around Branch's torso. He stopped and thought about this Poppy situation. His eyes widened. He could just see Poppy charging off to rescue the others and getting hurt herself.
"Goodness, you're right. Alright, I suppose we can see how you're doing after I finish up here and decide if you can or should be trying to help save our friends," Biggie said. Then he got back to work on Branch's wounds. He paused for a moment, looking down and realizing that he might have missed a spot... "Ah, Branch... It looks like the bird may have scratched you...just below your waistline? Is it...alright if I take a look?"
Branch groaned. Just what he needed, stripped down completely. "I'd rather you didn't."
"I just need to roll the waist down a bit, that's all. I mean, your pants are torn and bloody there...so I think it's safe to assume that needs treatment."
Branch sighed. He was starting to wish Biggie would just let him handle it, but his left arm hurt when he tried to bend it. Yes, he could put up with the pain long enough to treat himself, but he doubted Biggie would be happy about the suggestion.
"Fine. Just get it over with."
Outside of the hair tent, DJ's eyes widened as the twins finished filling her in. "What!?" she cried, horror-struck.
How had that all happened while she'd refused to look? Now she was very glad she hadn't. Most of that sounded traumatizing, especially the parts about the dead and injured birds or the part where Branch was nearly eaten. If killing or injuring the birds was the only way to stop them, though, she supposed it was alright.
From that story, DJ learned that banishment wasn't just torture—it was a death sentence. If that was how things were outside of the village, it was a wonder Branch was still alive. Now they really needed to bring Branch home. Sentencing a troll to death was too bergen-like of an idea.
The twins just nodded, looking worried themselves.
"...Dang." She decided to worry about one thing at a time. Right now, Smidge and Guy were in trouble. Branch was currently safe with them.
She'd worry about how they were going to keep it that way later.
"So now what'll we do? We can't just leave them there, can we?" she asked, still worried. From the sound of things, the two weren't in immediate danger, but that didn't change the fact that they were in a bind.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, love. But, for now..." Creek headed over to Branch's bag and rummaged for some camping supplies while Fuzzbert laid out the blanket Satin and Chenille had made for him.
Creek couldn't imagine why Branch wouldn't have brought a tent—just in case of rain or something—and he wasn't disappointed. He wasn't sure why Branch hadn't used it yet. Maybe it was because of the time it took to assemble and disassemble it, or maybe he just wanted to have a clear view of anything that might be coming after them. Either way, he did, indeed, find one.
"While Biggie attends to Branch's current needs, I'll go on ahead and pitch this tent for Poppy to rest in. Wouldn't want her awakening to see the state that Branch is in right away, now, would we?"
Fuzzbert went to pick up Poppy, carrying her over to his new blanket.
"Oh, no, you two!" Chenille said firmly, holding out a hand to signal the fuzzling to stop. "Poppy's a mess!"
"She's covered from head to toe in Branch's blood. If she wakes up like that..." Satin put her hands to her face, worried. "Ooh, the horror!"
"And besides that, those blankets are not for bloody trolls. Well, not until the blood is under control, at least. Poppy needs a bath before anything else, and that's final!"
"Yes, but, love, she's currently unconscious, and—"
Ignoring Creek's protests, the twins took Poppy from a slightly startled Fuzzbert.
"You just let us worry about that, Creek," Chenille said. "We'll take care of her."
Creek looked away, closing his eyes with a shrug. "If you say so, love."
There was no arguing with them on this point, so Creek started pitching the tent while the twins took Poppy to get cleaned up. He hoped that somebody would be available to explain to Poppy why she was clean and, most likely, wearing a different outfit when she woke up. One would need a very good reason to strip and bathe a girl when she's unconscious, after all.
Satin and Chenille found a pond nearby and decided to wash Poppy there. Realizing that her dress was stained with blood, they checked in her bag and found two other outfits—party dresses. Neither really seemed practical for this trip, so Chenille set about making her a new outfit while Satin got her cleaned up. Once the blood was off Poppy, Satin and Chenille dressed her in a purple dress with flowers embroidered around the hem in a light lavender and a matching ribbon near the neckline on the left. A denim jacket with a pink heart stitched into the side completed the ensemble.
As they took care of Poppy's situation, Biggie finished patching Branch up and retracted his hair. He'd cleaned all of Branch's wounds and wrapped bandages around both his legs, his left arm, and his currently exposed torso. Branch's vest had been completely shredded by the bird's talons, leaving it completely useless. This didn't bother Biggie—he personally thought that Branch shouldn't try putting on a shirt or vest right now in case it further aggravated his wounds. Even if he'd wanted to find something else for Branch to wear, he couldn't—the gray troll hadn't brought anything else.
Of course, this presented a small problem due to the fact that Branch's pants were also torn and stained, although the damage wasn't quite as extensive. While his vest was practically falling off him as it was, his pants could probably be patched up by the twins. Then again, they'd need him to remove the garment in question so they could do that... Alternatively, they could probably make him some new pants. Either way, it wasn't an emergency situation, so Biggie didn't worry about it immediately.
Branch looked around for Poppy, growing concerned when he didn't see her. As a matter of fact, he didn't see anyone. "Hey, where is everyone?" he asked.
Oh, dear. Biggie looked around, hoping that there was somebody around who could answer that question. Given Branch's track record, Biggie was afraid the wounded troll might go looking for the others if he didn't find out where they—specifically Poppy—had gone.
Luckily he saw someone: Cooper.
"Cooper, do you know where the others are?" Biggie asked.
"Creek and Fuzzbert are pitching a tent, and Satin and Chenille took Poppy somewhere," he answered.
"Somewhere?" Branch asked, raising an eyebrow. Could this guy be any less specific?
"Yup!" Cooper said with a big smile. "Somewhere!"
Well, that wasn't the answer Biggie was hoping for. Creek and Fuzzbert were probably nearby, most likely trying to pitch that tent somewhere that Poppy wouldn't wake up and immediately see Branch's condition. He couldn't blame them for that. But why did the twins have to be in some mysterious "somewhere" with Poppy?
"You wouldn't happen to know where, would you?" Biggie asked, eyeing Branch with concern.
Sure, Branch could have been in worse shape, but that didn't change the fact that he was in pretty bad shape to begin with. While his wounds didn't appear to be life-threatening, Biggie still thought Branch should take it easy for at least a few minutes. Preferably a few hours.
DJ walked over, looking a little awkward, fiddling with her thumbs. Like Biggie, she was worried that Branch may take off. He seemed to have an obsession with taking care of Poppy, probably because he loved her. But, right now, he was took weak to be running off. He needed a better answer than "somewhere," or who knew what he would do?
Thus, DJ answered, "Uh...Satin and Chenille were, uh...a little concerned about all the blood, soo...they took Poppy to get her cleaned up a bit. Guess they're off lookin' for a stream or somethin'."
"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," Branch said with a lame look. For those two, anyway.
Relieved, Biggie said, "Right. Well, then, Branch, I think you should lie down and rest for a bit. Once everyone else is back, we can talk about how we're going to save Smidge and Guy."
Like it or not, Branch knew Biggie was right. These wounds weren't going to put him out of commission. Honestly, for him, they were minor. He didn't even think most of them were that deep, just long. But that didn't mean he hadn't lost more blood than was really good for him, and he was pretty sore, despite his efforts to hide this fact. If he was going to save Smidge and Guy, he knew he'd need to rest, to regain his strength. To take care of himself.
So, even though he wanted to pretend he was fine and get this over with, he nodded and lay down on his uninjured side. Biggie pulled out his Mr. Dinkles blanket and draped it over Branch. Yes, Branch had a blanket of his own, but Biggie felt that a softer fabric would be less likely to irritate his wounds than the scratchy blanket the swamp troll had with him.
It was strange to have someone taking care of him. Branch had always made a point of being independent. Even before being banished, he'd never let anyone take care of him. If he got sick or hurt, he dealt with it on his own. Yet here he was, allowing Biggie to treat his wounds and keep him warm.
He was surprised how nice it felt. It wasn't that he liked being tended to, it was just that he liked the idea that someone was genuinely concerned for his well-being. Even more bizarre, it wasn't Poppy. It was one of her friends.
Maybe, just maybe, he'd been wrong about them. But he wasn't going to bet on it.
Soon after, the twins returned with a clean and freshly clothed Poppy in tow, still passed out. Creek and Fuzzbert took her off the twins' hands and moved her into a poorly set up tent, laying her down for a real nap on Creek's blanket (Fuzzbert's lay forgotten near Branch and Biggie) and tossing her own blanket over her.
When the four came out of the tent, they found Biggie trying in vain to convince Branch to rest some more. Even though they'd been trying to be quiet, they'd still woken him. Anxious to rescue the others, he'd sat up and suggested they get started on that.
Of course, the others urged him to get more rest, which seemed to annoy Branch more than anything else. Biggie had said that they could discuss a plan once everyone was back. The whole group was here, minus one sleeping princess and two cat toys, so now was the time to talk about that, as far as the gray troll was concerned.
So, after arguing with Branch for a good 15 minutes, the Snack Pack gathered around him to figure out what they were going to do next.
"So what's the plan there, mate?" Creek asked. "I'm sure that critter's long gone by now."
"Kitty critters never stray far from home," Branch answered. "If there was one out here, that means it has to have a den nearby. That's where we'll find Smidge and Guy."
"Right, and how are we going to find its den?" Biggie asked.
"Tracking a kitty critter isn't hard, Biggie. They're not the most stealthy creatures out there."
This was especially true when they wanted to play. They'd swat at anything that moved, so one simply had to follow the trail of eaten flowers, trampled grass, and startled critters.
"Well, yeah, but what are ya planning to do with it once ya find it?" DJ asked nervously. "You're not gonna knock it out again, like you did the last time, are ya?"
Branch was tempted to tell her that he didn't knock out those growlbeasts, but he wasn't sure he could stand the revulsion he'd see on her face. It was bad enough he'd freaked Poppy out with that one. And, honestly, the "kill or be killed" side of him wasn't something he was exactly proud of.
Come to think of it, why didn't anyone seem revolted by what he'd done to that bird? It seemed absurd to expect them to understand why he'd killed it, but that was the only explanation Branch could think of.
"'Cause, if you were thinking about it, that's barbaric and unbefitting a troll such as yourself." Creek gave a taunting grin as he added, "After all, if you're gonna take my place as king someday, you need to—"
Branch rolled his eyes and cut him off, "Oh, please! That's hardly necessary with a kitty critter. If those guys hadn't gotten in the way, I'd have gotten rid of it a lot easier. They like to play, so, when they find something they think is fun, you just have to give them something else fun—and make sure they take that first."
"So you're gonna play with it?" Cooper asked, completely confused.
Branch gave him a dull look and answered flatly, "Yes, Cooper, I'm going to play with it."
Cooper looked at him with deep concern. Branch wasn't in any shape to be doing something like that, given the size difference between them and that kitty critter.
"Branch, I hope that's sarcasm," Satin said anxiously. "You're already injured, so playing with a kitty critter wouldn't be good for you!"
"Poppy wouldn't be happy if you got yourself hurt any worse," Chenille added.
"Of course that was sarcasm! How stupid do you think I am!?"
Cooper started to answer, "Well, I think—"
"It was a rhetorical question!" Branch snapped.
"Oh..."
"Anyway, I know kitty critters like chasing things that move, so, after I find it, I'll use my machete to reflect the sunlight, luring the creature away from its den. If it wants to catch the light, it'll have to leave Guy and Smidge. This'll give them a chance to get out of there."
"Okay, and what are the rest of us doing while you're doing that?" Biggie asked.
"What do you think? Staying out of the way."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold that thought a moment. Are you saying you aim to tackle this thing alone?" Creek asked.
"But, Branch, just look at yourself!" Satin cried, gesturing at his body, half covered in bandages.
"You can't seriously be planning to take on a troll-napping critter on your own now, can you?" Chenille demanded.
"Okay, that sounds really dumb," Cooper said.
Branch glared at the giraffe troll. If anyone in the whole world didn't have the right to call someone dumb, it was Cooper. "You're one to talk."
Fuzzbert spoke up, only to have Cooper translate him once again, "Well, Fuzzbert agrees with us! He says kitty critters are sneaky, and it might go after you instead. He thinks we'd stand more of a chance if we all work together."
Satin, DJ, Chenille, and Biggie all nodded in agreement.
"I agree entirely," said Creek. With a smug grin, he added, "And I may have a plan that just might work."
Of course, the best part about his plan wasn't that it would help them rescue Smidge and Guy. Hopefully this plan of his could kill two birds with one stone...assuming everything worked out alright.
Branch groaned. Why now, of all times, did these guys insist on helping him? They were perfectly content to leave him to die at the hands of the bergens just days ago. They didn't care if he was stuck in isolation and tortured. They'd shown no concern over his well-being after he'd rejoined them...
Okay, so Satin and Chenille had hidden him from King Gristle, and DJ had tried to calm him down, but the rest of them hadn't been concerned about him in the least this whole trip!
...Other than when Biggie had pointed out that he was already in trouble.
Or when Creek hugged him after Bridget decided not to kill him.
Or when Satin made him a blanket.
Or when Fuzzbert said he believed Branch hadn't taken advantage of Poppy.
Or when everyone had hugged him after hearing about his grandma's death.
It quickly became apparent to Branch that there were instances during this trip when these guys had shown at least mild concern for him. Now, if he could just figure out why, he'd know how to handle it. It couldn't be because they cared—that would be asking too much.
Then again, Biggie had said they didn't want to see him hurt and seemed genuinely worried for his health...as did all the others.
Was he missing something here?