Chapter 10

"Hey, that was pretty amazing what you did back there," Clumsy commented to Branch when they started for the wall again.

"It wasn't bad," Smurf Storm begrudgingly agreed,

Brainy adjusted his glasses, "How did you know?"

Not used to the attention, Branch just shrugged, "I heard them coming."

"With those big ears, how could you not?" grinned Hefty, dodging Branch's attempt to smack his arm.

"Like you're one to talk," said Branch, torn being glaring or rolling his eyes so he just frowned at him. "I'm surprised none of you heard it."

"You just pay closer attention Branch," Poppy gave him a light nudge. "You've always been more concerned about people's safety then things you should be paying attention to."

"Like what?" Branch hoped this wasn't about parties or listening to Creek's constant meditation advise.

Poppy just smiled, "You'll see."

"Oh, wow, that really cleared things up," Branch rolled his eyes. "Thank you for your wise words princess."

"Don't mention it," Poppy winked, completely ignoring Branch's sarcasm, as always.

Soon they were on the other side of the wall and were careful to avoid the giant yellow flowers that almost seemed to be watching them even as they stayed perfectly still. They went down the crevice and passed the dragonfly hive before heading away from the direction that Smurfy Grove was supposedly in and towards the Troll Tree.

"Oh, I can't wait," Poppy practically danced as she walked. "I'm going to introduce you to my Dad and all of my friends-"

"So, the whole village?" asked Branch.

"-And, of course, there'll be a party," Poppy ignored him. "Prepare for more singing and dancing then you have ever seen in your life."

Poppy's words echoed in Branch's brain. Why didn't he realize that sooner? Hefty was going to meet all kinds of brightly colored, happy trolls and hear all sorts of singing. Why would Hefty want to associate with gloomy, hot-tempered, and brings nothing but problems Branch once they got to the Troll Tree?

"And we'll give you a grand tour of the tree, right Branch?" asked Poppy, turning to him but then stopped and stared at him. "Branch…"

"There isn't all that much to show," commented Branch, not sure why she was staring at him. He looked up and noticed that they were all staring at him now. "What?"

Stepping closer, Hefty silently grabbed Branch's hand and lifted it so Branch could see.

What met Branch's eyes shouldn't have surprised him but he sighed at the sight of all too familiar gray skin. Really, he should have known his color wouldn't last. Why had he held onto the hope that it would for so long?

Watching Branch just seem to accept the change, Hefty tried to take it all in. There was no blue to Branch anymore besides his eyes. All of Branch's skin had turn gray and his hair had actually shrunk in length when it shriveled into black.

What happened? Branch was fine a moment ago but now he was really unhappy. What changed? Was he dreading going back to the Troll Tree? If that was the case Hefty had no problem turning around and returning to Smurf Village right then and there.

"Branch," Hefty gave Branch's hand a squeeze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Branch tried to pulled his hand back.

But Hefty held on, "Branch-"

"Let go," shouted Branch, ripping his hand away. "Stop being so god damn concerned! This is just who I am; it's time for everyone to get used to that."

"Branch, that isn't true," Poppy tried to hug him but he brushed her off and stormed ahead of the group. She ran ahead and tried to block him off, singing, "Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend-"

"Leave me alone Poppy," Branch walked around her and kept going.

"Come on bro," Hefty tried blocking Branch this time. "Let us help."

"There is nothing to help with," snapped Branch, trying to get around Hefty but he as harder to get past. "Come on, move; Poppy's father is waiting."

"He can wait a little longer," Hefty continued to block Branch's attempts to get around him. "Just tell me what's got you all gray."

Instead of trying to dodge him, Branch moved directly towards Hefty. There was a split-second Hefty expected Branch to punch him. He never expected Branch to hug him.

"I'm sorry," Branch said softly, continuing to hug the stunned Smurf. "I can't be happy for you." He slipped away before Hefty could hug him back and continued towards the tree.

No matter what they did, Branch stayed ahead of the group, barely glancing back. Any time anyone tried to get closer, Branch would speed up and ignore them.

For the life of him, Hefty couldn't figure out what Branch meant. What did he think Hefty was happy about and why did it make Branch miserable?

Falling into step with Brainy, Hefty nudged the smart Smurf's arm, "Let me borrow Snappy Bug."

"What, why?" Brainy held onto his hat suspiciously.

"I want to talk to Branch," said Hefty.

Brainy scoffed, "I really don't understand the appeal of that unbalanced Troll."

Seriously, if looks could kill, Poppy's glare would have Brainy six feet under the Troll Tree roots. At least Brainy had the common sense to look apologetic for his words.

"You don't have to," Hefty glared as well, trying to yank Brainy's hat off.

"Hold your Smurfberries, I'll get her," Brainy swatted at Hefty, waiting until Hefty backed off to reached into his hat to retrieve Snappy Bug. "Be careful with her."

Rolling his eyes, Hefty let the ladybug crawl onto his hands on her own before walking slightly ahead to have some semblance of privacy. "Hey Snappy bug, can you take Branch a message for me?"

The lady bug gave a little buzz and almost seemed to salute him.

"I'm sorry for whatever it is I did," said Hefty and paused, "Got it?"

Snappy Bug gave a little chirp and flew off towards Branch.

Up ahead, Branch's ear gave a little twitch, indicating that he heard the bug's approach and didn't jump when Snappy Bug landed on his shoulder. He seemed to listen to Snappy's buzz in his ear but didn't turn back to look at Hefty.

Soon Snappy Bug was flying back and relied a message in Branch's voice, "Idiot, did nothing wrong."

"Then why are you mad?" asked Hefty and sent Snappy Bug off again.

When Snappy returned, she buzzed, "I'm not mad. Leave me alone."

"How can I?" Hefty sighed into the air, "I hate seeing you gray."

Snappy flew off.

"No, wait," Hefty grabbed for her but just missed, unable to do anything but watch Snappy deliver his "message".

After hearing the message, Branch walked faster.

Snappy returned and buzzed, "Then go home."

"Not happening," Hefty huffed, keeping a gentle hold on Snappy this time so she wouldn't fly off. He mulled over what he wanted say before holding up Snappy, "Please Branch? We're friends, aren't we?"

This time when Snappy delivered the message, she didn't fly back. It only took Hefty a second to realize that Branch had stopped walking.

Grinning, Hefty turned, giving the rest of the group two thumbs up before running to catch up with Branch.

At least Branch was truth in his message, he didn't look mad. Instead he looked drained, as if he didn't have the energy to keep fighting anymore.

"Hey," Hefty fumbled, unsure of where to start.

"Hey," Branch mumbled, walking again once Hefty was beside him.

Hefty scratched the back of his neck, "Look, I know you're used to dealing with stuff on your own but you don't have to. I'm here for whatever it is that's got you down. If you don't want to go back to the Troll Tree, you don't have to. We'll drop Poppy off and head straight back to Smurf Village, just you and me if necessary."

Branch shook his head, "It's not that and thanks for the offer but I know you don't have it in you to leave your family out here in unknown territory." He lightly poked at the ribbon Poppy made, still pinned to the vest Hefty was wearing, "Hero."

Light bush spread across Hefty's face but ignored it and Branch didn't seem to notice so he forged on, "Still thinking about Azrael?"

Now that would be an easy excuse but Branch didn't really want to lie to Hefty. He shook his head again, careful not to dislodge Snappy Bug from his shoulder, "I admit that wasn't exactly," he paused trying to think of a proper word, "pleasant but that's not it either." He sighed, "Hefty I appreciate your concern and I'm sorry for lashing out before but… This is all very new to me."

"What is?" asked Hefty, wanting very much to understand.

Silently, Branch suggested between the two of them. "This; having friends outside of Poppy. Feeling all sort of weird, new things that I don't understand and feeling stuff in general besides doing what I needed to survive and trying to knock some sense into other Troll's heads." He looked head to avoid looking at Hefty. "It's been a bit much."

"You're overwhelmed," Hefty summed up but he couldn't help but feel like there was more to it then that. What Branch said before about being unable to be happy for Hefty was still buzzing in Hefty's brain but he didn't want to push too much when Branch was finally trying to talk to him about this.

Branch nodded, looking down, "It's stupid."

"No, it's not," Hefty assured, grabbing Branch's hand and staying silent until Branch looked at him. "I can't say that I understand but I want to; I want to help. There's no need to hold it all in when it's obviously upsetting you."

Staying silent, Branch looked down at their hands, his gray one clashing horribly with Hefty's blue, "I guess I can't really hide that; I'm like a ridiculous mood ring."

Gently, Hefty squeezed Branch's hand, "The gray wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't know that it meant you were hurting. Please, let me help."

There was more silence, then Branch sighed, "It's not really something you can help with. Look, I'll make you a deal; if you back off and let me have some time to figure things out, you'll be the first person I go to if I'm ready to talk."

The Smurf hummed, Hefty making a show of thinking it over, "And if I don't back off?"

"If I feel like talking, I'll go to your Papa," said Branch.

"Oh, that's just no fair," Hefty whined, but couldn't stop from smiling when he saw Branch was giving him a small, fond smile in return. "Fine, deal."

"Good," Branch gave their joined hands a small shake, "Now let go."

"No, deal with it," Hefty stuck his tongue out in retaliation, feeling better as Branch rolled his eyes. He couldn't see any of the pale blue return but at least Branch didn't seem as down as he was before.

Rushing up to them, Poppy lifted and gently cradled Branch's injured arm. She softly nuzzled her face against the backside of Branch's hand and gave it a kiss before lowering it to hold it normally, not letting go as they continued their walk.

Snappy Bug nuzzled Branch's cheek before flying off back to Brainy.

Slowly the rest of the group caught up, Smurfette holding Poppy's other hand as they walked.

Up ahead the Smurfs instantly recognized the Troll Tree, huge and beautiful with hat looked like hundreds of brightly pod like houses hanging from its branches. All around where many more, more brightly colored trolls running about. Some of them had hair and skin that matched while others had complimentary colors and others contrasting though not a single one looked anything short of spectacular. There were mostly adults out and about but there were also children playing carefree and none of the Smurfs had seen any since they had been that small, or, in the case of Papa and Willow, when their charges had been that young.

"It's like a workout for my eyeballs," said Hefty in complete awe, unable to look away.

There was a pause, then Branch slipped his hand out of Hefty's hold to turn to look at the whole group, "Look, this is going to be a lot different than Smurf Village, try not to get overwhelmed. And whatever you do, do not eat any cupcakes a Troll with a long neck named Cooper offers you. And-"

"Relax Branch," Poppy squeezed his hand. "Nothing bad is going to happen."

Branch gave a non-committal hum and dodged Hefty's attempt to hold his hand again as they moved forward.

Once they got closer they could spot a group gathered together, talking to an elder Troll that was a creamy orange color with wild pink hair that had some white streaks developing throughout it.

Energetically running in place, Poppy raised Branch's and Smurfette's hands, kissing both of them, before letting go to sprint forward, "Dad!"

The elder Troll, Kind Peppy, turned and smiled widely, running towards her, "Poppy!"

As soon as the two were close enough, the father and daughter embraced each other, each proclaiming their worry over the other.

The rest of the group of Trolls that gathered rushed in to join in on the hug, each saying how worried they had been but none of them seemed to notice the Smurfs or care that Branch was there.

Anger boiled up in Hefty. Why didn't any of them acknowledge Branch? Branch had been missing for as long as Poppy. And why was Branch just standing there and accepting it? Why wasn't Branch making himself known? Was knowing this would happen part of what was upsetting the Troll?

"Poppy, where have you been," Peppy cupped Poppy's face, caressing her cheeks.

"Oh, Dad, I have so much to tell you," Poppy squeezed other her father's hands. "I was attacked by this giant creature called a cat." She kissed Peppy's cheek before pulling back to rush back to her traveling companions. She grabbed Branch and Hefty, pulling them both forward to present them to the Trolls.

"Branch saved me," Poppy beamed at Branch and then turned to Hefty, "And Hefty saved both of us. He's a Smurf, they live on the other side of that big wall."

Letting go of Branch and Hefty, Poppy rushed over to the rest of the Smurf's pointing them out and introducing each one of them. "Aren't they amazing? There's a whole village of them and they've all been very kind to us." She quickly introduced the gathered Trolls, her father Peppy and her friends: Creek, Biggie, Biggie's pet worm-thing Mr. Dinkles, DJ Suki, Guy Diamond, Smidge, Fuzzbert, Satin and Chenille. "I'm so glad you all could meet."

The Trolls had been so distracted by the Smurfs, none of them had really looked at Branch yet and Hefty was getting sick of it.

Finally, the purple Troll with two-toned hair named Creek noticed Branch. He frowned and stepped closer to him, "Branch?"

"Not a word, Creek," Branch warned.

"But you're," Creek suggested towards Branch and spoke the next word as if it disgusted him, "gray."

"Excellent observation Creek, guess you can hold off on the glasses for a bit longer," Branch crossed his arms in annoyance.

Frowning, Creek turned towards the Smurfs and honed in on Hefty, "Are you lot responsible for this?"

Stepping in, Branch blocked the Smurfs from Creek's view and glared at him, "Don't blame them for this; they had nothing to do with it, it's just me."

"Poppy," the larger blue Troll, Biggie called to the princess, "Fix him."

"It's not that simple, Biggie," Poppy frowned at him.

"You did it before," the twins, Satin and Chenille said together.

"Stop talking about Branch like he's broken," Hefty snapped, putting his hand on Branch's shoulder. He tried not to frown when Branch shrugged him off and stepped away and still said nothing in his own defense.

"Surely a Smurf-thing doesn't understand the importance of Troll colors," Creek dismissed him.

"Creek," Poppy just a silent warning in her tone.

"I know what they mean," protested Hefty.

"Then do you know that it's against the natural order of things for a Troll to be unhappy? Especially for so long?" Creek crossed his arms, "I thought he was finally getting his aura in order but then he loses all his progress in a few days? If you're not to blame, I don't know who what else it could be."

"Creek," Branch called, waiting until the purple Troll turned to him. "Go find your namesake and drown in it."

"Now that's enough of that," Papa stepped between the two Trolls. "I understand that Branch's colors are cause for concern but arguing and pointing fingers aren't going to help matters any."

"And Branch," Willow stepped closer to the gray Troll, "Isn't it possible that your friends are just concerned for your well-being?"

"They are not my friends," said Branch.

"Branch," Poppy scolded.

"It's true," Branch argued and turned to the Snack Pack. "Can any of you even recall a single time that any of us have even spoken when Poppy wasn't there?"

A few of their mouths opened.

"And I'm not counting when I would try and warn you about Bergens," Branch added.

The group of Trolls fell silent. There were a few times one of their mouths would open but then close again, thinking better of it.

"I didn't think so," said Branch. "Now, can we please move on?" He suggests towards Smurfette. "Poppy, isn't there an announcement you'd like to make?"

"Yes, but," Poppy hesitated, keeping her eyes on Branch.

"I'm fine Poppy," Branch assured her. "Make your announcement."

Hesitating further, Poppy stepped closer to Branch and kissed his cheek, pulling back and giving him a soft smile.

Slowly, Branch gave her a tiny smile in return.

After squeezing his shoulders, Poppy went over to Smurfette and took her hands, "Everyone… I introduced you to Smurfette earlier but there's more to say." She kisses Smurfette's cheek, making her smile before turning to her fellow Trolls. "I love her. I'm in love with her. I hope that she will be my chosen mate someday."

To their credit there was no moment of disbelief from the Trolls. They instantly cheered, surrounding Poppy, and now Smurfette, with hugs and congratulations.

"I'm so happy for you Poppy," Peppy hugged his daughter. "You have definitely found a beautiful prospective mate."

Smurfette blushed but smiled when King Peppy turned and hugged her next, "I will do my best to make her happy sir."

"Please, Peppy is fine," Peppy smiled, "Or maybe 'Dad' would be more appropriate?"

"Alright," Smurfette hesitated but then smiled, "Dad."

Poppy squealed and hugged Smurfette tightly, kissing all over her face.

"I'm happy for you Poppy," said Creek, putting his hand on her shoulder, "And you know I would never purposefully rain on your parade."

"But you're going to anyway," said Branch.

"But," Creek frowned at Branch before turning back to Poppy. "She does know you're a princess, right? And with that comes certain obligations?"

"She does and I've told her all about it," Poppy nodded. "Smurfette understands that I'll need an heir and what will need to be done in order for me to be blessed with one. We even already have a plan for that, right Branch?"

"No," Branch frowned at her. "You have a theory which I am still considering if I'm crazy enough to participate in."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Hefty.

"Well Trolls and Smurfs probably can't have children together so I was thinking that Branch and I would have a child together instead," explained Poppy, much to Branch's utter annoyance.

"What?" the Snack Pack and Hefty shouted together in disbelief.

"Poppy you can't be serious," said Guy Diamond.

"You can't have a child with Branch," protested Creek.

"What if happiness is genetic?" asked Cooper.

"I'd worry more about passing down that easily broken neck if I was you," seethed Branch, glaring fiercely at the long-necked Troll.

A few cupcakes came out of Cooper.

"Ew," exclaimed Smurf Lily, unable to hold it in.

"Well, that explains that," commented Smurf Storm.

"How does that even work?!" asked Brainy.

"Branch, is this something that you want?" asked Hefty.

Sighing, Branch rubbed his eyes, wishing Poppy had never brought it up, "I'm still considering it but I'm leaning towards no."

"Branch," gasped Poppy.

"I never said yes," protested Branch. "And your friends are saying what I was before; you don't want to have children with me."

"But Branch," Poppy let go of Smurfette to approach him. "I would love to have a little you running around; I would love them with all of my heart."

"Maybe but the last thing the world needs is another me," said Branch. "The world needs more of you and you should find someone that compliments that. Anyone besides Creek."

"That was uncalled for," said Creek.

"No offense to Creek or anyone else but I don't think it would work if it isn't you," Poppy pleaded with him.

"Why do these conversations keep getting worse?" asked Branch, stepping away from her and turning to Hefty. "Sorry in advance for this but I can't take it anymore."

That made Hefty nervous, "What are you going to do?"

Stepping slightly away from the group, Branch shouted up into the tree, "Hey everyone, Princess Poppy is back and check out the Smurfs! Isn't it all so new and exciting? The one with the vest even saved her life!"

"Now that's just playing dirty," Poppy grumbled.

Suddenly all the Trolls were rushing towards them. Hefty tried to take off the vest to toss it but he was swarmed too quickly, the excited Trolls blocking him off from the one Troll he actually wanted to be near.