"Branch!" Poppy called, running to him. "I know you just got happy again and that it's only been a week since the Trollibration but I have a few itty bitty teensy things to ask you." Poppy moved her forefinger close to her thumb.
"What?" Branch asked.
"Are you doing anything?" Poppy checked.
"Well, I was working on this puzzle before you came in-"
"Oh, good!"
"Not that I wanted to finish it anyway," Branch muttered.
"Do you mind helping?" Poppy asked. She smiled. "Fine, what is it?"
"Thank you, Branch!" Poppy clapped. "Okay, the first task is that I need you to help Cooper plan Guy's surprise party."
"Surprise party?"
"His birthday is coming up."
"Okay."
"Second, I need you to help Satin and Chenille."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. What do they need me for?"
"They didn't say." Branch stared at her in anguish. She just smiled at him. "Ugh, fine. As long as there's no..." he gagged, "...glitter."
"They don't use glitter so I'm sure you'll be fine! Lastly, I need you to run some new printed Scrapbooks down to the library. The only problem is that there are some birds out and they're kinda hungry."
"Birds are no problem," Branch said, waving a hand. He placed another piece onto his puzzle. "So you'll help then?"
"Yeah, sure," Branch replied, shuffling through the small pile of puzzle pieces. He picked up a corner and put it on the table, linking it to another. "Now?"
Branch inhaled deeply, put the piece he was holding back down, and sighed. "Fine."
Branch met up with Cooper in a small field surrounded by trees on every side. "Alright, Cooper. Not a party planner but I'm here to help." Cooper laughed. "Nice to see ya, Party Pooper!"
"Hey, those were my Bunker Days!" Branch said, pointing at him. He crossed his arms. "I'm a changed Troll."
"If you're s 'changed Troll,' then go and find some streamers!" Cooper replied, smiling.
"Streamers?" Branch asked. "What do you mean 'find?'"
"Find!" Cooper repeated. "You can find streamers in Party Plants!"
"Party-what-now?"
"Party Plants!" Branch stared at Cooper in confusion. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth slightly, waiting for Cooper to expand on it. He never did and instead, beckoned Branch off. Branch stood for a few seconds longer before turning around into the woods. "What the heck is a Party Plant?" Branch asked himself.
Branch stopped walking when he came to a small patch of assorted plants. Some are vegetables while others are some plants he's never seen. Two are poisonous, so he ruled those out. One is a vegetable, which he's positive doesn't have any streamers inside. Two are fruits and the rest are unsure. One looks like a squash with confetti covering the outside, three are red, green, yellow and round, which kind of look like apples, and the last is rotten.
"Uhh..." Branch said, reaching into his hair. He pulled out a plant encyclopedia and flipped through the pages. "P...p...p..." he muttered as he flipped through the alphabetized plants. He slowed down when he reached the p's.
"Party Plant...Party Plant..." He stopped on the page that had the confetti-like squash. He stared at the page, then at the plant. He looked back at the page. "'Party Plants are notoriously known for their ability to grant streamers to any Troll who can break it open. Party Plants have the appearance of a flattened squash, covered in colorful dots bearing a resemblance to confetti...' blah blah blah...ah! Here we go! 'Party Plants are very tough to break open but yields mountains of streamers in each, unless rotten.'" There is a small diagram showing the difference between a rotten Party Plant and a fresh one. He looked at the diagram then at the plant.
He closed the book and shoved it back into his hair. "Definitely a Party Plant." Branch scanned the are for any danger, seeing none. He approached the plant slowly, in case a creature decided to jump out on him.
He bent down to the plant, continuously examining the area. "Cooper wants streamers, he's going to get streamers." Branch rubbed his hands together then grabbed the plant's base with both hands. "Aaaand...up you go!" He stood up but the plant, and his arms, didn't go up with him. "Okay. Let's try that again." He bent down some and jerked back up. Again, the plant didn't budge.
"Hmm..." he said, taking his hands off the plant. "New strategy." Branch pulled out a shovel from his hair and extended it to the longest height. He aimed the pointed end of the shovel and the plant. "Prepare to get busted."
Branch charged at the plant. The shovel's point dented it but it didn't break it. He tried to pull it out but it was stuck. "Well, that's wonderful. Just what I needed," Branch mumbled. "All I wanted to do was finish my puzzle, but noooo! Poppy insisted that I help out! Why did I let her talk me into it!" Branch pulled at his shovel the whole time, only falling to the ground at his last pull.
Branch growled. He ran, grabbed a stick, and started to beat the plant. The stick snapped in two, the top end smacking him right between the eyes. Branch yelled, snatched up the other end of the stick, and started beating the plant with both sticks.
After a bit of struggle, Branch started throwing ricks at the plant. The rocks gradually became bigger and bigger until he couldn't carry them anymore. He kept throwing rocks until a large rock missed, bounced off a nearby tree root, and flew towards Branch.
After he freed himself from the rock, he started fist fighting the plant. "Break open!" he yelled.
After a few minutes passed, Cooper met up with Branch, who is lying on the ground, panting, covered in dirt, his hair a little messed up. Cooper laughed. "What are you doing, Party Pooper?"
"For the last time, stop calling me that!" Branch replied, panting. Cooper looked at the Party Plant, a few small rocks, and Branch's shovel sticking out of the shell, and covered in small patches of dirt. Only a few dents are visible. "Ooh! You found the Party Plant!"
"Yeah but it's impossible to bust," Branch said, turning his head towards Cooper.
"No it isn't!" Cooper laughed. Branch sat up. "Yeah it is! I've been trying at it for twenty minutes!"
"You just gotta do this!" Cooper walked towards the plant and tickled it. The plant wobbled and fell apart, a mound of streamers taller than Cooper inside. "You just have to...tickle it?" Branch asked.
"Uh-huh!" Cooper said.
"You have to tickle it?!"
"Uh-huh!" Cooper repeated. Branch sat there for a second, pulled out his plant encyclopedia, scribbled inside of it, slammed it shut, exhaled, and put the book back into his hair. "Okay. How many more do you need?" Branch asked, standing and dusting himself off.
"Three!"
"T-three?"
"They should be down the spooky part of the forest."
"Of course they are," Branch replied, his shoulders dropping. Cooper picked up the streamers, placed them in a wagon, and walked off with it. "Good luck!"
Twenty minutes later, Branch came out, still covered in dirt, with streamers sticking out of his hair. Branch dug in his hair, pulled out streamers after streamers, and threw them into a pile on the floor. "There," Branch said, pointing to the freakishly large pile of streamers. "Streamers!"
Cooper laughed. "Thanks, Branch! This is perfect!" Cooper scooped the streamers into his hands. "You can go now! Satin and Chenille need you!"
Branch knocked on Satin and Chenille's pod. "One moment!" Satin called from inside. Branch dusted off the extra dirt and fixed his hair before Chenille opened the door. "Branch! We've been waiting for you!"
"Come in!" Satin said from inside.
Branch walked inside, Chenille closing the door behind him. "What do you need my help with?" Branch asked, looking at all the dresses hung up around the room. "It looks like you have everything handled yourself."
"We actually have a bit of a problem," Satin replied.
"We are trying to make a dress but we can't decide on a color," Chenille said.
"We've been at each other's throats for weeks now," Satin added.
"So we decided to get some actual help from someone," Chenille finished.
"So...you decided to get help from...me?" Branch asked, confused.
"Yep!" the twins replied in unison.
"...why?"
"'Cause...we are very logical and patient," Satin said.
"Plus, you seem to know what you're doing with your fashion sense," Chenille added.
Branch looked down at his leaf vest and his shorts. "Well...I, uh..." he looked away from them, "...have been wearing the same thing for...for...years..."
Satin and Chenille looked at each other, then back at Branch. "Well!" Chenille shouted to break the tension. "Here is the dress we designed!"
She handed Branch a thin sheet of paper. The dress is short, like most dresses, going down to the modeled Troll's knees. Currently, the color is blank but the pattern shows to be leaves. Branch examined the paper for a little while before turning his attention to the twins. "What kind of feeling are you going for?"
"'Feeling?'" Satin asked.
"You know," Branch said, waving his hand in a small circle, "the mood. Is it supposed to be party clothes? Casual clothes? Does it fit a certain theme? Time of year?"
The twins stared at each other in amazement. Branch handed them back their paper and they quickly got to work. After a few seconds, the handed Branch the paper again. "What do you think?" Chenille asked.
Branch scanned the paper again. This time, the dress is slightly longer, but not by much, going just a few centimeters under the knee line. The dress still has the leaf pattern, but this time, the leaves are pointed. The dress is colored orange, except for the bottom row, which is made from brown leaves. "This looks great, but...you aren't going to use real leaves, are you? That'll be really uncomfortable."
"Of course not!" Satin said.
"That's painful," Chenille agreed.
Branch handed them back the paper and they dismissed him. "Off to the Scrapbook bus then," Branch said to himself.
Asking a few Trolls along the way gave him the directions to where Poppy parked the bus. The bus is parked next to a large rock. "Ugh, Poppy. You're making this very difficult to get out." Branch walked inside the bus, and took the driver's seat.
"Okay, to the library then." Branch stepped on the gas, after switching the bus into reverse, pulled out from the rocks, and went around them. "Wait, did Poppy say they'll be birds?"
Branch stuck his head out the window and looked up. There are a few birds circling above but they haven't seemed to notice him. "Well, better make this quick then."
Branch drove the speed limit but kept good distance from him and the birds. Poppy had warned that the birds were hungry. They eat bugs but he'll be a lovely treat if they can get him with the bug, and all the Scrapbooks.
Branch stopped at a Troll crossing, which seemed to have lasted forever. He tapped the steering wheel with his fingers while he waited. "Come on, come on, come on..."
Once the Trolls ended, he pushed on the gas again, being careful to stay the speed limit. There are a few Trolls walking next to the road on the designated walkways, as Poppy liked to call them 'flower paths,' however, one dropped a large rock in the road. "My rock!" he yelled.
Branch stomped on the brakes, but not quick enough, as he had to swerve around the rock. The screeching of the bus' feet called the attention of the nearby birds, who started diving down towards him. Branch slammed on the gas, trying to loose the birds.
"Hang on!" Branch warned the bus. He rolled up all the windows and drove towards a lake. He drove through it, losing the birds. However, one bird dived down in front of him. Branch couldn't stop the bus fast enough and drove up the bird's wing.
The bird flapped to shake off the bus, causing Branch and the bus to fly. Branch screamed the whole way down as he tried to keep control of the bus, holding tightly to the wheel.
The bus crashed to the ground, flipped a few times, then landed on its feet. Branch sat in the seat, arms out as far as possible, gripping tightly to the wheel, for a few seconds before he relaxed.
Branch tried to move from his seat but found he couldn't. Shortly after, a purple Troll with indigo hair came onto the bus. "Dr. Moonbloom?" Branch asked.
"Yep, it's me," she replied.
"W-what are you doing here?"
"I heard a distress call and came running."
"But...I didn't call you."
"No," Dr. Moonbloom replied. "He did." She pointed out the window to Aspen Heitz and another orange Troll standing next to him, both with equally shocked expressions. "Who needs your help?" Branch asked.
"Turns out, they called for you," Dr. Moonbloom replied seriously.
"M-me?"
"That's what they said. 'There is a bus flying off a bird, which got startled and flew off, and I think there may be a Troll-oh, wait-it's rolling around now. You might want to come help, Dr.'" Branch stared at her in amazement. "How did you copy that?"
"No time for questions, Branch," Dr. Moonbloom replied. She walked towards him. "Let me see here..."
She pried Branch's hands from the steering wheel. "Seems like you may be suffering from shock," she stated.
"Yeah! Wouldn't you if you were flying through the air, higher than a Bergen's head, with no comfy landing in sight and no airbags?" Branch asked.
Dr. Moonbloom ignored him and continued searching. She tapped the dashboard. "All seems in check with the bus, minus a few broken windows and legs."
She bent down to examine under the seat. "Can you move your legs, per chance?" Branch tried to move his legs again but only found he could move one without severe pain. Branch winced. "Just one."
"Hmm..." Dr. Moonbloom pondered. She moved Branch's chair back. She checked Branch's left leg by moving it slightly upwards. She checked his other leg. "Yep, that hurts," Branch replied.
"It seems it is too late..."
"W-what?"
"...to take you to the hospital. You're leg is broken."
"I thought you were funny now!"
"Oh, I am," she replied. "Just used all my jokes today already."
"Are you kidding me?" Branch asked. "You're a Troll for crying out loud!"
"Yeah, but you have no sense of humor," she said.
"Well, I-I...uhh...well-" Branch closed his mouth. He grumbled and crossed his arms. "I'll have to give you a cast. Wait right here."
"It's not like I can go anywhere," Branch replied sarcastically. Branch swiveled his chair around to check the Scrapbooks. They're all still in good condition. Most of them are scattered on the floor.
Dr. Moonbloom came back in with the materials for a cast. She started working. "There goes my perfect hospital record," Branch sighed.
"You haven't been taking care of yourself these past twenty years, have you?" Dr. Moonvloom asked seriously.
"No," Branch replied sarcastically. "My grandma did. Who else?"
She finished the cast and stood back up. "I can take you back to your bunker while the librarians handle the Scrapbooks," Dr. Moonbloom said.
"But-"
"No 'buts.'"
"Poppy asked me-"
"Doesn't matter what the queen said," Dr. Moonbloom interrupted. "We have to take care of that leg."
A few nurses came into the bus with a table. "You need to elevate that leg for a while."
"But-"
"No."
Branch opened his mouth. "No." He angrily closed it. The nurses put the table towards the back of the bus, along with a chair, then came over, picked up Branch, much to his annoyance, and put him on the chair, elevating his leg. The nurses left and Dr. Moonbloom took the wheel.
"I expect that leg to be better by the end of the week."
"What about the bus?"
"It's okay. These things are durable."
Dr. Moonbloom drove the bus back to Branch's bunker. "Off you go. Here, take this crutch." She handed him a crutch. "I don't want to see you walking around without it, got that?"
Branch sighed dejectedly. "Yes, Dr." She smiled. "Good. I'll drive this bus back to the library and we can take care of the rest. Have a quick recovery, Branch."
"Thanks," Branch said, standing with the crutch and waving her off, hopping out of the bus on one foot.
Branch took his elevator down to his living room and sighed. He hobbled over to the nearest chair, pushed it towards the table with his hair, sighed again, then sat down, carefully putting his leg onto the table.
After just a few minutes of silence, Poppy came down the elevator. "Branch?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Just a broken leg. How are you?"
"Aww, Branch!" Poppy cried. "What happened?"
"Oh you know, just those birds you warned me about tried to eat me. One flung me into the air and broke my leg. Nothing too big," Branch explained, waving his hand in a circle.
"Aww!" Poppy cried. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine. What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing from you. I actually have something for you!"
"For me?" Branch asked, surprised. "But it's not my birthday."
"I can give you gifts outside of holidays and your birthday, Branch!" Poppy said, putting her hands on her hips. "Anyway, it took all day. I was distracting you so you wouldn't see it. Plus, it's a trade for doing work for me." Poppy reached into her hair. "Oh yeah! How did everything go?"
"With Cooper, I found out you had to tickle a plant to open it, and Satin and Chenille? I don't know, I think they liked my idea?"
"What did you give them?"
"I just asked them what the feel of the dress was. They completely changed it."
"Can't wait to see it!" Poppy handed him a small box, big enough for one hand, wrapped neatly in white paper and vertical green stripes. It was topped with a red bow placed on. "This is for you!" she said, smiling.
"T-thanks," Branch said, reaching for it. His hands stopped short of the box. "Poppy, I can't reach."
"Oh, sorry!" Poppy moved closer for Branch to grab the box. Branch accepts it and opens the box, taking the lid off. He looked inside to see a small green strip. He put the box down and pulled out the strip.
"What is it?" he asked.
"It's a Hug Time bracelet!" Poppy cheered. "It's an official symbol that you are an Honorary Troll!"
"An...Honorary Troll?" Branch asked, holding up the opened bracelet.
"Yep!" Poppy said. "Really, those things I sent you to do was actually helping me make it! Cooper wanted you to see how dedicated you were to actually being a part of society and gathered materials for me for your bracelet. And it actually is Guy's birthday tomorrow. Satin and Chenille eye measured you so I could get your size just right! And the Scrapbooks was to get you away from the area so I could finish."
"Poppy...I-I don't know what to say."
"That's okay, Branch! Take your time with it!" She smiled at him and walked out. Branch watched Poppy leave through the elevator, then looked at the bracelet. He smiled and put it on. A perfect fit.
"Thanks, Poppy."
Author's Note
I've always wondered how Branch got his Hug Time bracelet and after watching the episode with Archer Pastry (The Beat Goes On), this came into my head. Branch also never majorly gets injured so I thought it would be a fun idea when he's at his most vunlerable to get one! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!
