A/N: Okay, maybe that last chapter was too torturous and heart-wrenching. Here's a nicer one!
Nerd Alert 8910 – Glad you already enjoy it! Cyber high-five back at ya!
Jpbake – I would love to hear your guesses as you discover my cast. :D
Neomoon585 – The amputated leg was the best way I knew to give Poppy a disability she must overcome.
LB the bookworm – I am thinking about Finding Dory. Maybe I can do that adaptation next.
TAPDANCING GIRAF – Aw, am I torturing you again? LOL
Chapter Two – First Day of School
Poppy remained with Dr. Plum while Peppy organized the funeral arrangements for Joy and the unborn twin who perished. Once that was finished and Peppy was cleared to take Poppy home, he took her and what he could salvage from his house and moved his little family deeper into the forest. He made a new pod home in a secure tree, far from the meadow and safe from most of the dangers in the forest.
Raising a child alone was difficult. Raising an amputee child added the extra challenge when it came time for Poppy to learn how to walk. Dr. Plum had to amputate Poppy's wounded right leg just above her knee. She spent the first years of her life in her father's arms or in a wheelchair. Sometimes she would stand or hop in place to exercise her still-functioning left leg. When she turned four and practically begged her father to teach her how to walk, Dr. Plum began showing her how to use crutches. Poppy picked them up with ease, and soon she was getting around on her own with only a little bit of wobbling. Peppy would still fuss and fret over her, watching his daughter closely and steadying her if she looked like she was about to fall over.
Despite missing half of one leg and being restricted to crutches, Poppy grew up to be an energetic and happy little girl. She loved to read the books her father had and stare out the window at the world around her. She was only allowed to go outside when her father was with her; and, oftentimes, she only ever went outside when he brought her along to get food. Nonetheless, Poppy would pause in her hobbling to say hi to every troll she met, and she would talk happily with the other children. Some of them would stare at her missing leg until her father dragged her away.
So terrified of something happening to Poppy, Peppy homeschooled his daughter using the books they had in the house and the school materials he borrowed from Dr. Plum. But Poppy's curiosity and hunger to see the forest grew with every passing day. So, when she turned ten years old, she told her father that all she wanted for her birthday was the chance to go to school. Peppy talked to Dr. Plum about it, and she agreed that Poppy needed to practice her social skills in a more integrated setting.
Very reluctantly, Peppy enrolled Poppy in school and announced she would start that autumn following her birthday.
As the sun cast the forest in its golden glow, the trolls of the forest began to rise and prepare for their day. One pink troll in particular was eager to start this day.
"First day of school! First day of school! First day of school!" Poppy cheered as she bounced/hobbled her way into her father's room. She pulled open the curtains to let in the sunlight, and she shook her father. Peppy moaned tiredly and turned away from her. "Daddy! Get up! Wake up, Daddy!" Poppy cheered happily. When her father still wouldn't wake up, she made her way to the foot of the bed and looped her hair through the heart in the bed frame. She stepped backwards until her hair was pulled taut, and she jumped forward and let her hair slingshot her through the air. "Wheeeeee!"
"Oof!" Peppy groaned when Poppy landed right on his stomach.
"Get up! It's time for school! It's time for school!" Poppy said, bouncing on her father's stomach.
"I don't wanna go to school." Peppy yawned. "Five more minutes."
"Not you, Daddy! Me!" Poppy shook him again, and then began bouncing on the bed. "Wake up! First day of school! First day of school! Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh—whoa!" Poppy suddenly tripped and fell right off the bed.
Peppy bolted upright. "Poppy!" He jumped out of bed and picked up his giggling daughter, setting her on the edge of the bed. "Are you all right?"
"Yep!" Poppy said.
"Are you bleeding? Anything broken?" Peppy asked, agitatedly looking over his daughter.
"No." Poppy shook her head.
"Sometimes you can't tell at first because your body goes into shock. Are you going into shock?"
"No."
"Are you dizzy?"
"No."
"How many stripes in my hair?"
"I'm fine, Daddy." Poppy complained, bored once again by her father's frantic worrying.
"Answer the stripe question!" Peppy ordered.
"Four." Poppy droned.
"No! See? There's something wrong! I have…" He hurried to the mirror on the wall and counted. "One….two…..three….four? Really?" Indeed: one big gray streak almost directly in the middle with two little ones on one side and another little one on the other side. "Gosh, I'm old. Okay, you're fine." He returned to his daughter and inspected her amputated leg. "How's the leg feeling? Any soreness at all?"
"No, no! It's all good!" Poppy assured.
"And you're sure you want to go to school this year?" Peppy asked. "There's nothing wrong with being homeschooled."
"But I wanna make some friends and learn stuff you can't teach me!" Poppy said. "Please, Daddy? You promised!"
Peppy sighed. He did promise. "All right."
"Yay! Let's go!" Poppy tried to hop down from the bed, but Peppy caught her.
"Ah-ah, you are nowhere near ready to go out and go to school." Peppy said, handing the girl her crutches.
"Aw man." Poppy pouted.
"Do you really want to go out looking like that?" Peppy asked.
Poppy looked down to her nightgown, and then up to her wild bedhead hair. "Yes!"
"Oh, I don't think so." Peppy scooped up his daughter and began tickling her, causing her to laugh uncontrollably.
Soon, Poppy had on her favorite, purple-blue flower dress and a purple headband with a white flower. Her hair was combed and her face washed. She hobbled along on her crutches while her father anxiously combed out his own hair with his fingers. They paused at the door, and Peppy slowly opened it. The two trolls poked their heads out. They looked left, then right, then up, then down.
"Let's go!" Poppy cheered.
"No." Peppy grabbed the back of Poppy's dress and pulled her back in. "What's the first thing we do before going out?"
Poppy sighed. "I wait here while you go look out for danger."
"And why do we do this?"
"Because the forest isn't safe."
"Very good." Peppy stepped out the door to the branch in front of the pod. He slowly tiptoed across the tree limb, looking all around for danger. Poppy watched with a bored expression as her father ducked behind a bushel of leaves on the branch. He poked his head out, and then ducked down again, repeating the process several times. He wielded his cane like a baseball bat.
"Daddy!" Poppy called. "I'm going to be late!"
"SHH!" Peppy hissed. He took one last look around. "Okay, Poppy! It's all—"
"Yay!" Poppy hopped out of the pod. She suddenly tripped and face-planted into the branch.
"Poppy!" Peppy rushed over to her.
"I'm okay!" Poppy said happily.
Peppy sighed. This is going to be a long day.
Peppy used his hair to lower them down to the forest floor, where the other trolls and creatures of the forest began to emerge from their homes and start the day. Peppy's walking stick tapped rhythmically on the ground. Poppy kept right by his side on her crutches. She looked all around at the wonderful forest around her, taking in every detail: the sunlight streaming through the branches, the round shapes of the felt-texture leaves, and the cool, soft grass under her toes. Peppy hovered near her, reaching for his daughter whenever she looked like she would fall.
"Do you think I'll see a crocodile while I'm at school? Or maybe a wingdingle?" Poppy asked.
"I don't think so." Peppy said.
"Have you ever met one?" Poppy asked.
"No, and I don't want to." Peppy said.
"Will there be other kids my age at school?"
"Yes, right in your class."
"Will my teacher be nice?"
"I've met Karma a couple times. She's very kind."
"Will she teach me to use my hair?"
"Yes, I'm sure she can teach you some things I haven't taught you."
"You barely taught me anything."
"Oh. Right."
"Will she teach me how to fly?"
"Trolls can't fly."
"Oh. Then will she show me where to find a llama-troll?"
Peppy laughed, shaking his head at his daughter's rambling. "A llama-troll?"
"Or maybe it's called a troll-llama." Poppy scratched her head. "Or maybe giraffe-troll. Have you ever seen one?"
"No, I can't say I have." Peppy said.
"Mandy Sparkledust from next door says there's no such thing as a llama-troll, but I know she's wrong!" Poppy insisted. "I'm gonna meet a llama-troll and we're gonna be best friends and we're gonna go on all sorts of adventures and we're gonna be bestest friends in the whole wide world!"
"Well, I can't say if llama-trolls exist, but I'm sure one would be very happy to have you for a friend." Peppy tousled his daughter's hair.
Soon, they arrived at a clearing where other families gathered with their children for school. Poppy's eyes widened in wonder. There were children here! Children her age and younger and older! Children she could play with! Peppy, however, was lost. He hadn't interacted with so many other trolls in several years. He spent so much time raising Poppy that he didn't even know his neighbors.
"Let's head over this way." Peppy guided his daughter to a trio of adult trolls chatting happily. "Excuse me, is this where Karma picks up the children?" Peppy asked, politely interrupting the trolls' conversation.
The trolls turned to the incoming father and daughter pair. "Yes, that's right." the female of the group said.
"Hey, you're that troll from the big oak in the forest!" one of the males realized.
"Well, look who's finally out of the pod!" the other male chuckled.
"Yes, yes, quite a shock." Peppy shrugged. "I'm Peppy. This is my daughter, Poppy."
"I'm Blossom. My son, Aspen, is running around here somewhere, probably about to break his neck on his skitterboard." Blossom had purple skin and blue-purple hair streaked with pink, her eyes a pretty blue color. She wore shorts, a T-shirt, and a visor.
"My name's North. My daughter is Moxie, one of the best dancers around." North had lime green skin and purple-magenta hair, with a nose and eyes the same color to match. He wore a rainbow-colored headband, and sweatpants.
"And my little rascal is Rudy. I'm his father, Axel." Axel had more muscle on him than North. He had aqua-green skin and eyes, and his hair was a similar shade to North's, which made Peppy think they might be related. He wore swimming shorts and a T-shirt, and he had a pair of goggles and a snorkel clipped to his pocket.
"This is my first day of school!" Poppy piped up excitedly.
"How exciting!" Blossom cooed. "Aren't you just so adorable?"
"Daddy says so." Poppy said shyly.
"Why haven't you started school sooner?" Axel asked. "Something wrong with you?" He yelped when North slapped him upside the head.
"I've been homeschooling her." Peppy said. "But I thought she ought to start school so she can learn things I can't teach her."
"I thought Auntie Dr. Plum told you I need to practice my social skills." Poppy said.
Peppy paled, chuckling nervously. "Well, it would be nice for her to make some friends."
"I'll be you and Moxie will get along great!" North said.
Suddenly, a ball flew over and hit Poppy on the head. "Ouch!" Poppy yelped.
"Hey!" Peppy shouted.
Two boys looked mortified when they saw the angry father glaring at them. "Rudy did it!" one of them shouted.
"Nuh-uh! Aspen did it!" the other shouted.
"It was your throw!"
"It was your bad catch!"
"Oh both of you shut up!" a girl snapped, pushing the two boys apart.
"Children!" Blossom scolded. "Enough of that. Come over here right now and say 'hello.'"
"Are you all right, Poppy?" Peppy asked, fretfully looking over his daughter.
"I'm fine, Daddy! Stop squishing my face!" Poppy's voice sounded weird from Peppy grabbing her by the cheeks.
"You're not bleeding? No concussion?" Peppy asked.
"Dad." Poppy whined. "You're embarrassing me."
"Children, this is Poppy." Blossom said.
"Poppy, these are our children." Axel introduced each child as he pointed to them. Moxie had orchid skin and eyes, and lighter-colored hair. She wore a yellow dress that faded to reddish-orange at the bottom. Aspen had orange skin and eyes, and green hair. He wore single-strap suspenders that were blue with green on the bottom. He carried a skitterboard. Rudy had lighter orange skin and golden yellow hair, and blue eyes. He wore blue shorts, held up with a green suspender strap. He picked up his ball that hit Poppy's head.
"Another girl!" Moxie cheered, hugging Poppy. "Yay!"
"What's wrong with your leg?" Rudy asked. "Missing your peg leg?"
"Rudy!" Axel scolded.
"Why are you on crutches?" Aspen asked. His mother pinched his ear. "Ow! What'd I do?"
"Be nice." Blossom scolded.
"Daddy says I was bit by a snake." Poppy said.
"Cool!" Rudy gasped.
"Not really." Peppy huffed.
"Oh!" North gasped. "Are you from that same family whose home was attacked by that snake so long ago?"
Blossom smacked North. "Would you stop it?"
"It's okay!" Moxie lifted her skirt a little to show a small scar on her knee. "Look! I got this from learning a new dance move."
"I got this from a skitterboard trick gone wrong." Aspen showed off a scar on his elbow.
"I've gotten so many head injuries that my mom wants me to start wearing a helmet everywhere." Rudy laughed.
A trumpet horn sounded from the trees. "Oh children!" someone called in a singsong voice.
"Miss Karma!" the kids cheered.
"Come on, Poppy!" Moxie urged.
Poppy tried to hobble forward, but Peppy pulled her back. "Uh, maybe you should stick with me." Poppy huffed, blowing her bangs from her face.
Karma emerged from the trees. She had rusty orange skin and bright green hair like a tuft of spring grass. She had all sorts of twigs and leaves and dandelions stuck in her hair. Her nose matched the bright blue of her eyes. She wore a yellow crop top and a skirt that looked like it was made of flower petals to match. The children all gathered around happily.
"Hello everyone!" Karma greeted, hugging the kids. "How wonderful to see you all again! Moxie? Mandy? Oh, Glint! How lovely to see you all!"
"We have a new student, Miss Karma!" Moxie said, pointing to Poppy.
"Ah, yes." Karma grinned, stepping towards the pink troll and her father. "Glad you didn't bail on me again, Peppy."
Peppy sighed. "Hello, Karma."
"And you must be Poppy." Karma knelt down to the child. "I hope you enjoy my class."
"I bet I will!" Poppy said. "Do you have any books?"
"Oh, yes. Plenty." Karma said.
"Yay!" Poppy cheered. She tottered over on her crutches to Moxie.
"Uh, Karma?" Peppy piped up. "I'm sure you're aware of her…uh, condition? She gets tired easily. If she needs a break, I find that taking a break is good for her. You know, ten, fifteen minutes? Something like that? You know what I mean?" Peppy felt a tug on his pant leg, and he looked to his daughter.
"Daddy?" Poppy cleared her throat. "I think it's time for you to go? Now?"
"Oh, yes." Peppy forced a laugh. He opened his arms to give his daughter a hug, but she already trotted off with Karma. So Peppy just waved awkwardly.
"Come along, students!" Karma called. "We're off to my tree library for our lesson today!" The kids cheered.
"Come on, Poppy!" Moxie guided her new friend along.
"Bye, Poppy!" Peppy called.
"Bye, Dad!" Poppy waved before joining Moxie and her new classmates.
"Bye!" Peppy waved, anxiously watching his daughter disappear with her class. "Be safe."
"Well, I'm off to do my swimming exercises." Axel said, walking off.
"I've got to clean the garage. About time I get that done." North sauntered away.
"Care to come to my pod for tea?" Blossom offered to Peppy.
"No. I'm good." Peppy said.
"You're doing very well, Peppy." Blossom said. "I know it's hard to let them go. But she's going to grow and have so many wonderful stories to tell when she gets back."
"Yep!" Peppy said with a forced smile. He waved to Blossom as she left. Peppy looked back to where Poppy disappeared. He plopped himself down on a nearby mushroom. "No reason I can't sit right here and wait for her to get back."
Six hours later, Peppy was still in his same spot. His fingers drummed on his cane in his anxiousness. When he heard the joyful chatter of little children, his ears went almost straight up. Peppy jumped off his spot and joined the parents searching for their children. Karma congratulated the children on a good first day, and she dismissed them to their parents. Peppy scanned the tiny tufts of hair for a familiar pink one.
"Daddy!"
Peppy smiled widely and knelt down to be at Poppy's eye level when she approached him. She had paint splotched across her face. "You must've had a good day." Peppy mused.
"I made this for you!" Poppy showed Peppy a picture she had made in class of her and her father.
"That's lovely, Poppy." Peppy said. "Come on. Let's get home and get you cleaned up."
The pair traveled home, and Poppy practically bounced on her crutches as she described her entire day in detail: Karma's tour of her library, the ice breaker game to learn everyone's names, recess with her new friends (especially Moxie, who showed off her dance moves), and expressing yourself through art. Peppy kept looking his daughter over for injuries, but saw none. Had he overreacted? Was she going to be okay after all?
Peppy relaxed a little more when he and Poppy sat down to dinner. Later, while he cleared the table, Poppy hobbled to the bathroom to change for her bath. Peppy soon joined her to help her wash her hair.
As she dried off and pulled on her pajamas, Peppy noticed something. "What happened to your knee?!"
Poppy quickly pulled on her pants, but her father already saw the scrape she got from recess. "Nothing!"
"Don't tell me 'nothing'!" Peppy lifted Poppy and set her on the counter, pushing up the pant leg to analyze the scrape. It was minor, probably didn't even need a band-aid. But Peppy about had a heart attack.
"Stop freaking out, Dad!" Poppy snapped.
"I'm freaking out for a good reason!" Peppy snapped back as he pulled out a monstrous first aid kit. "I told you to be careful!"
"I can't be careful and have fun at the same time!"
"Yes you can. It's called sitting still and reading a book. Just watch out for paper cuts."
"Why do you have to be such a spazz?!"
"You don't even know what that word means."
"I know you always freak out over nothing and it's so stupid!" Poppy suddenly pushed herself off the counter. But she tripped upon landing and fell to the ground. Peppy tried to run to her, but he kicked the counter instead and pain erupted in his toes. Poppy took her chance to grab her crutches and hobble out of the room as fast as she could. Peppy took a few deep breaths. His foot still throbbed. After a moment, he sighed heavily and pulled a single band-aid from the first-aid kit. He also brought a wet washcloth with him as he walked down the hall to his daughter's room.
Poppy looked up when the door opened, and she glowered at her father. "I come in peace." Peppy said, holding his hands up in a defensive manner. "No more spazzing out. Promise."
Poppy sighed. She sat on her bed with her knee pulled up to her chest. "Why do you have to freak out so much?"
Peppy sat on the edge of the bed and coaxed his daughter into letting him apply a bandage to her scraped knee. "Because I'm your dad. It's my job to freak out when my daughter is hurt, even when it's just a little cut."
"But it's annoying." Poppy complained.
"You'll thank me when you're older." Peppy said. He sighed. "Look, Poppy, you are my whole world. If anything happened to you…"
Poppy didn't like that look on her father's face. A look of fear and sadness, like he would cry. He always got that look on his face whenever she asked about her mother. "Dad, nothing will happen to me. I'll be okay."
"I know. I know." Peppy said. "Just promise that you'll be a little more careful, okay? You're not like the other kids. You can't run and jump and do things they can do."
"I know." Poppy sighed. "I'll be more careful."
Peppy smiled and pulled his daughter into his lap, tickling her ribs. She began to squeal with laugher, and Peppy chuckled. He hugged Poppy tightly, and Poppy returned the embrace. She didn't like to see her father upset. It annoyed her when he worried. It made her sad to see him sad. So if being more careful kept that smile on his face, she'd do it.
Poppy never realized how soon she would break that promise.
A/N: There. A little family fluff for you! Because you all know what's going to happen next…
Fun facts! Poppy's first day of school outfit is based off the outfit from the Hug Day episode in the series. The trio of parents—Aspen, Moxie, and Rudy's parents—are based off characters from the old Trolls Party Forest game.