A tap to the forehead wakes Branch up. Poppy moves his head with her cowbell hammer, giggling to herself. Branch smiles and gets up before picking her up. His backs sore, apparently he had slept on his pack, but that's alright with him. He looks out into the main room where Peppy is putting on his ceremonial cape and suit. He looks royal, elegant and like a true leader that Branch has come to respect.
"Hello sire." Branch says as he enters the room.
"Ah, bRanch, Poppy, happy to see your up just in time." Peppy says with a smile," You're going to take charge of helping Poppy while we run."
"I would be honored, sire." Branch says .
Tired, Branch couldn't think about much other than the fact they're leaving. He follows Peppy silently, and sees all the trolls together outside of the hole in the tree. His heart thumps loudly in his chest, realising what all of this means.
"No troll left behind!" Peppy announces as he plunges into the hole, the crowd following.
Branch holds tightly to Poppy and they run off into the hole. Every troll at first pushes and shoves out of the way, but once the trolls get into the marmot tunnels, they arrange in a large line, making sure everyone has room to run.
Branch is somewhere in the middle, and he runs as hard as he can to keep up with the others around him. He runs for an hour, when he trips on a rock. As he falls he twists and lands on his back so Poppy doesn't get hurt.
"Are you alright?" A troll asks as he passes.
"Pass Poppy to the king!" Branch says extending his arms out with Poppy in them.
A troll running past picks up the princess.
"Got it!" She says, before passing it forwards.
Branch grunts, getting out of the way and rubbing his neck. He stands up, but a pain shoots up through his back and through his foot. Right now he can only walk, yet there is a long ways to go until the entrance the king spoke of before. As trolls run past, he jumps forwards, running slowly, breathing deeply, when the line comes to a sudden stop.
"What happened?" Branch asks a troll next to him.
"Apparently there's a fork in the road and until we know which one leads to the outside. It's going to be awhile." She says, nearly out of breath and sitting, along with the rest of the trolls in the line.
Branch collapses down, and looks at his foot. It's pretty swollen, but with this rest he should be able to at least walk a ways.
"You aren't looking to good kid." the troll says with worry, should we get the doctor over here?"
"Nah, I'll be fine." Branch says with a passive smile," I think I'll be fine."
"Doctor Ash is somewhere close by, we can easily call him." A male troll sitting behind the female says with a bit of concern.
"No, really." Branch says holding up his hands," I'm fine. I don't need a doctor to come over."
"I really think we should, just be safe." The female says.
"The last think we'd want is for you to be captured by the burgens again." The male says, but the emphasis on the word burgen makes Branch twitch due to its intent.
"Olive!" The female says turning and lightly hitting the male.
"What? I'm just saying he was almost eaten yesterday." The male says trying to justify himself," We don't want him to experience that again. Besides, if he slows down too much, you know Peppy would make sure that he comes back to help him."
Branch feels an anger well up inside of him. For a year he'd been living by himself, with no one, except Joy and Peppy, to care about him enough to spare him an extra thought. Now because of one incident everyone was treating him differently, not because he's gray, but because they think of him as the shaken little troll who survived a burgen attack. They don't even remember that he ran to Peppy to warn of the burgen plans, or that he easily took care of Poppy, or that he'd still continued to run with determination even though he's hurt. They look past his triumphs to see the dark side, his apparent hurt, a surprising thought for young troll used to the other always being excited and positive.
Here he thought they were worried about him, but instead it's the idea he holds, the symbol he represents. He's only one of many who were taken by burgen, Branch just came back. The other trolls still see him as the depressing gray troll, but they now sympathise with him just because they see a possibility of experiencing what it would be like if the burgen had let their own family members get away.
"Which way is Doctor Ash?" Branch asks in a cold tone.
"Uh, over there." The female says pointing farther back.
Branch gets to his feet, forcing himself through the pain to head to the front of the line, or at least away from his new discovery. As he runs, he heard whispers as he passes, along with the occasional," Branch, are you alright?", causing him to go faster. He spots a small deviation from the path, and dives in as soon he's next to it. Turns out it's a longer path. Trolls start to run after him, but he keeps running, until a opening, which he slides into. The trolls run past him, and he's alone in the darkness.
After a time, the trolls running after him walk by the cave, shouting his name with concern. It seems like an hour or two before they finally give up. Branch sighs with relief and sprawls out across the ground. His leg and back hurt horribly now, and he honestly regrets his decision a little, but he also knows that right now he just wants to be alone. He hadn't been alone since the burgen showed up.
The silence seems to pierce his ears. He used to hate it, but now it seems comforting in its absolute presence. The slight cold in the air touches Branch's skin, without a blanket it stings, but after a while it almost seems like a comfort of the cave. A small illumination from afar shed a small amount of light into his little burrow, and he notices a small sparkle in the walls, reflecting the light so brilliantly. They look like millions of stars, something that was a rarity in the troll tree, but he remembered his father telling him he was so young the memory is hazy and faded, but the vivid description and the sight before him makes him realise his father was right in his praise.
A sense of calm washes over him. Not a happy feeling, but one of peace and bliss with his situation. The pain in his leg and back fades as he looks around the cave, studying the shimmering rocks. This is what he would want in a home, someplace that would emulate the feeling of comfort to the extent, but with a bit more heat.
Tap, tap alarms Branch's ears, something's coming. The footsteps are small, unlike the older trolls who came after him earlier, it sounds like there's not as much weight in the steps, a younger troll.
"Branch! Where are you?" a familiar voice yells.
"Creek." Branch says softly.
"Branch is that you?" Creek yells into the darkness.
"Yeah, I'm over here." Branch says, getting up, popping his back.
He puts pressure onto his leg, it stings, but it's completely usable. His back still aches, but something tells him that's going to take a lot of time to actually get used to. He slowly goes through the small entrance to meet Creek, illuminated by the fire of his torch. The small purple troll gives a sigh of relief and a smile, before giving a surprisingly strong hug from such a small troll.
"What happened?" Creek asks," First I get passed Princess Poppy, then the line comes to a screeching stop, and soon after everyone's abuzz that the gray trolling ran off into a tunnel. I know you wouldn't do that without reason."
"I just…" Branch says wearily before letting out a loud sigh," I'm just trying to help the group find new exits, and I guess I just went the wrong way."
It was a lie, and a bad one, but Branch doesn't know Creek to well. The first time they hung out has been the only time they've hung out. Branch doesn't want to try and have to explain his woes to a near perfect stranger. It would be easier to talk to Doc about his troubles, but he also doesn't want to be a burden to the busy doctor.
"Without telling anyone?" Creek says with a smile," I may not know you well, but I'm pretty sure that's out of character even for you."
"Well, sometimes I feel overwhelming patriotism for our small tribe of trolls and I want to help." Branch laughs," I just happened to get lost this time around."
"Every troll wouldn't put up this much of a fuss if they thought you were scouting out a path." Creek says with a sigh," Even King Peppy has begun to come back to try and find you. Everyone's in a tizzy, even all the doctors."
"The king, and Doc, oh trolls." Branch says clutching his head and sitting on the ground," Come on, I don't need this."
"Branch." Creek whispers as he crouches down to pat Branch, but his hand is slapped away.
"Tell them I'm fine." Branch says harshly," Go back and tell them you found me, and I'm just looking around, being a kid. Tell them anything that'll stop them."
"Branch, I don't want to leave you like this."
"Well, I'm not giving you an option. I'll return once everyone starts running again."
A silence overcomes the two of them. Stressed and tense, it feels worse than in the cave in Branch's mind.
'You've got a friend in me' Creek sings, snapping Branch back to attention.
'You've got a friend in me,' Creek extends his hand to Branch,' When the road looks rough ahead, and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed, just remember what your old pal said, boy, you've got a friend in me.'
Creek smile a large dopey grin,' Yeah, you've got a friend in me!'
Branch looks up to Creek with confusion. Creek laughs and sighs at the same time. He gently places the torch down, then grabs Branch's hands, and pulls him up to his feet. Creek hums the instrumental while Branch follows in his lead.
'You've got troubles, and I've got 'em too, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We stick together and can see it through, 'cause you've got a friend in me." Creek sings while twirling around and dancing in an awkward that even gets Branch to crack a smile.
'Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am, bigger and stronger too, maybe. But none of them will ever love you the way I do, it's me and you, boy.' Creek gleefully points to Branch and himself, all while jumping back and forth, 'And as the years go by our friendship will never die, you're gonna see it's our destiny. You've got a friend in me! Yeah, You've got a friend in me!'
Panting heavily from the amount of breath he used to sing. Creek strikes a final pose, hair extended in a few directions, hands waving in jazz hand position and legs lunged forwards towards Branch. Branch smiles and laughs while clapping loudly.
"There it is." Creek says with a smile, still breathing heavily," That's the smile that made me want to become friends with you."
"You really...want to be friends?" Branch asks, trying to stop laughing to the best of his ability.
"I wouldn't have sung the entire song if I didn't mean it." Creek smiles," So why not tell what's got you so gray?"
Branch sighs, then smiles. He explains the situation with Poppy, his injury and his feelings towards the other trolls. nCreek sits beside him. Once Branch stops talking, they sit in silence for a minute.
"Well, I've been told I'm going to have a little brother or sister soon, and I don't want that." Creek says to break the silence.
"What?"
"Well, I listened to your woes, now you listen to mine." Creek says playfully," they're supposed to come when winter hits. I don't want a sibling, I like being an only child. I'm not good at using my hair, like at all, and I feel like I'm getting upstaged by the others. Even Chenille and Satin are great at using their hair and teamwork. I just want to stay this age forever, so I don't have to deal with the future."
"Well, we can't always run." Branch says," Though I might've this time. Bad things don't disappear because you want them to. So you have to look forwards and run, and hope that it's the best outcome."
"So when my new sibling comes, I should greet them with a smile no matter what, huh?"
"Yeah, then proudly stand up and yell." Branch says standing up and taking a large breath," I'm this one's big brother and proud of it!" He yells in the darkness.
Loud chattering commences at the entrance to the tunnel. Branch closes his mouth and covers it, while Creek bursts out laughing.
"That doesn't sound to bad." Creek laughs extending his hand out to Branch," Now let's get back to the rest."
Branch accept the offer and two walk back to the entrance. Once they reach the entrance Branch can't even blink in the light before he's tackled to the ground.
"We were so worried!" Chenille sighs as she hugs Branch's left ear.
"It's not everyday we get a new buddy." Satin says as she squeezes his right ear.
"I was seriously freaking out." Biggie cries.
"That was totally not cool." Suki says tightening her grip on his right arm.
"See, they all want to be your friends too." Creek smiles," I just got to you first."
"No fair Creek, I wanted to find him." Suki says with a pout.
"Well, I won the rock-paper-scissors tournament, so I gotta go find him." Creek says triumphantly.
"Yeah, we heard the musical number from here." Biggie sighs," I would've chosen a more classy song, like 'Thank you for being a friend'."
"Not all of us want to make that sort of impression." Chenille sighs patting Biggies back.
"Others like it simple." Satins chimes in, mimicking her sister.
The hug stops and the small trollings back away, but before Branch can say anything, a large green lump appears in front of him. Two shaking hands death grip Branch's shoulders, causing Branch to freeze.
"You…" Doc's voice begins with worry, but quickly turns to anger," Idiot!"
The trolls gasp, parents block their children's ears, and adults murmur angrily to one another. No troll is allowed to say the 'I' word to another, it's a big no-no in their society.
" Do you even know how worried we were?" Doc continues, blissfully unaware of the glares pointed in his direction," We don't even know what made these tunnels! It could be a snake, or a mongoose or even a green-spotted ground gobbler! You know how irresponsible it is to run off from others? I don't know what happened, but I know that if we lost you, well I might just turn gray myself!"
Another loud gasp, much more audible than the last.
"Oh shut it!" Doc yells, and the trolls all freeze to attention," Now what have you got to say for yourself young man?"
Branch stands, slack jawed at the proud troll in front of him. Not afraid to curse, or make sure others know their place. Branch began to wonder if this is how his father was when he was alive. He's quickly brought back to reality when Doc shakes him once.
"Well?"
"I'm sorry." Branch musters out," I didn't realise I'd worry you this much. I just wanted to go exploring."
Without warning Doc brings Branch into a hug.
"I know it's a lie, but you're going to tell me all about it when we make camp." Doc whispers into Branch's ear," Until then, you're staying by my side. Apology, accepted."
Doc rises up and looks at Branch. He then quickly glares at the crowd which has gathered to watch the spectacle, making them whip their heads forwards to avoid his gaze. He sighs a triumphant breath, offering Branch a hand to stand up. Branch accepts and gets pulled to his feet, wincing at the weight put onto his injured foot. Without a word, Doc scoops Branch onto his back and starts to walk forwards. Branch wants to protest but can't find the words.
"You all go and play with your family, I'll let this guy come once his foot is healed." Doc says looking at the snack pack, who follow closely watching Branch.
"If it's alright, can we stay next to you guys?" Biggie asks in a shy tone.
"I need to make sure he doesn't run off again." Suki laughs, extending her hair to tap Branch's shoulder," I haven't even shown him the true strength of my hair yet."
"Your parents are probably worried." Doc persists in trying to get them to leave Branch alone.
"They know we'll be fine." Satin and Chenille say together.
"We're surrounded by adults, if anything were to happen, they'd help us out. Our parents shouldn't be worried at all." Suki says with confidence.
Doc sighs in defeat and lets the crew follow him to his position near the front of the line. Branch is set down on a rock, while Doc rummages around his stuff to find cotton bandages and anti-inflammatory cream made of assorted berries that were found on the troll tree. The snack pack entertain Branch by telling him stories of their greatest feats, which weren't all that great but Branch didn't want to say anything, and singing songs and dancing.
An announcement waves through the crowd saying that they'll need to camp out for the night, and the snack pack reluctantly goes back to their respective families. Families huddle together and lie on the ground, falling asleep easily after the long run and waiting period. Doc helps Branch onto the ground, then extends his arm for Branch to use as a pillow.
Branch reluctantly humors Doc, and rests his head down. Doc uses his other arm to warp around Branch in a protective embrace. Doc's hair extends and reaches around the two, changing color to match the rock Branch was sitting on. Other trolls do the same, creating camouflage to protect from any predators.
"What actually happened today?" Doc asks quietly, tightening his grip on Branch's shoulder," I don't know you that well, but I know that you aren't one to run for no reason."
Branch hesitates for a second. Doc loosens his grip, and begins to slowly rub Branch's back, trying to comfort the trolling. Branch takes a large breath and begins to whisper.
"I thought trolls began to see me as Branch, and began to accept me even though I'm gray." Branch starts in a barely audible whisper," But now I think they just sympathize with the fact I'm the first troll to survive a burgen. They don't see me, but when they do it's still as a distasteful gray troll. They see potential for a new hope, and that's the only thing they care about."
"Well, I see a brave young troll who's taken up far too much stress for how short his life has been." Doc whispers back," I see a brave, strong and skillful troll who takes care of others as much as himself. I see someone who looks fear in the eyes, and makes sure everyone else can sleep easy before succumbing to it. I see the son of two of the best trolls I've ever seen in my life. Gray or Blue, even rainbow, what's on the outside doesn't matter. I see Branch Sparrow, no one else. If others see 'the troll who lived' then don't pay them any mind. Those who matter are the ones who will see you no matter what you've been through, and support you all the way."
"What about the ones who treat me differently because of the incident."
"Be kind to them." Doc signs," They've lost many to the bergens. The think that because you've survived, maybe their family and friends may have as well. Don't let their actions bother you, just know that you've become their hope. They're grateful your around, but you don't have to care about what they say and do to you."
A silent understanding forms between the two. Both exhausted from the day, they hiddle close together and fall into a deep sleep. It's still many days before they will truly be free.