Hello dear reader! Thank you for reading this far and Happy New Year!

Got distracted a bit more than I planned the last couple of weeks due to the holidays and getting ready for a new year. This chapter is coming out a bit later than I planned, but what can ya do?

This will be the last chunk for John Dory so I'm going to go ahead and mark this story as 'Complete.' After this will be Spruce/Bruce which I'm already working on and then the next two. Not sure when those will come out but I'm hoping within the month before things pick up for me.

To keep from delaying anymore, I present you this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Trolls or anything dealing with its long history. DreamWorks own the franchise rights, and I'm just a simple writer who enjoys creating fanfiction.

"Are all egg hatchings this boring?" Clay asked, tilting his head as he continued staring at the still immobile egg resting in his mother's hair. Sitting on either side of him were his older brothers, both shrugging in response.

"Not sure," Spruce answered first. "You bounced out of mom's hair after your egg hatched and dad caught you before you landed on your face."

"And Spruce at least moved around inside his," John Dory finished, not looking away from the egg. "Maybe he's sleeping? Mom, dad, do babies sleep inside their eggs?"

Seated the same way on the couch for the fourth time, Reed and Aster gently smiled at the trio below them, the male replying, "I'm sure babies rest inside their eggs like they do after hatching sometimes. Perhaps your brother is finishing whatever he's up to in there and will be coming out soon."

"I do feel them moving a bit," Aster added, carefully lifting up her hand and placing it against the thin shell. "Just be patient with your sibling, boys. They may be a bit shy."

"Would it help if we introduced ourselves, then?" Spruce suggested, leaning forward. "Then we won't be strangers and he'll feel more comfortable coming out."

Reed hummed, indulging the idea by saying, "That's a smart idea, Spruce. Just don't be too loud in case your mom and I can't hear him, okay?"

"I'll go first then!" John Dory exclaimed as he rose to his feet.

Before he could start though, Spruce rose to his feet as well and complained to the other, "No fair! It was MY idea! I should go first!"

"But I'm the oldest!" John Dory retorted before turning his focus to the object above his mom's head. Beside him, Sprout crossed his arms with a pout at the sound Trolling logic. "Hey little brother, I'm John Dory. Like I just told your other brother, I'm the oldest out of the four of us. I like to sing, dance, write songs, watch bugs, and climb branches."

"My name is Spruce and I'm the second oldest," the purple haired Troll started, annoyance at John Dory forgotten as he focused on the main priority. "I also like to sing and dance, and look at ocean pictures, and beach pictures, and eat Fluffleberry cake, and make sure J.D. isn't being a meanie to everyone."

John Dory didn't get a chance to comment on the last statement as Clay jumped onto the spot between their parents, calling up to the egg, "I'm Clay, the youngest brother. Well, I guess when you actually hatch you'll be the youngest brother, so that will actually make me an older brother, too! I'm not sure what that's like, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. I also like singing and dancing. And jumping around on the moss not too far from our pod. When you're big enough, I'll take you over there and show you how to bounce on them!"

"And I'll show you the best places to walk across the branches and see the sky without noticing Bergentown," John Dory added, leaning against his dad's legs so his head rested on Reed's knees. "We can make up stories based on the clouds we see passing by!"

"I know some cool spots around the branches where if you catch the wind just right, you can actually glide up if you turn your hair into a glider. Though, that will definitely have to be when your big enough so you can control your hair enough," Spruce offered.

"Spruce is right on that one," Clay started, "The first time I tried it, I didn't make my hair turn into the right shape and instead of flying up to the next branch, I collided with some mushrooms!"

"That's why I told you to let me hold you first, but noooo! You didn't listen to me!"

"That's why I said we should have walked across the branches first," John Dory interrupted, looking between his brothers. "There's plenty of spots where you can whip your hair out and swing around. It would have been great practice!"

"But you don't feel enough wind that way!" Spruce whined. "And we ALWAYS walk around the branches!"

"Well, we hardly ever go to my moss patch!" Clay joined in.

"Boys," Reed started softly trying to calm them down, only to be overrun with continued cries.

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Why don't we go to the spots I like?!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"It's more fun than walking, that's for sure!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"ENOUGH!" Reed shouted, instantly silencing all three. The Trollings recoiled, unused to their father's raised voice. A hushed silence fell over the three as he cleared his throat and spoke much more softly. "Boys, do you really expect your brother to see you three if you're arguing like this?"

"No," the trio chimed, looking down in embarrassment.

"Then I would suggest all three of you stop bickering right now."

"Yes, sir…" they stated, still avoiding looking up.

Reed lightly shook his head, casting a glance to Aster. She gave him a tired smile, nodding down to their boys after a few long seconds of quiet passed.

Expression softening, Reed reached and pulled John Dory and Spruce into his arms and lifted them up to his lap. Making sure they were settled, he then put his arm around Clay and pulled him over until all three were sitting snugly in his arms. The boys were still quiet, but looked less sad when they looked up and saw their parents' gentle smiles.

Clearing his throat, Reed told them, "Your mom and I are very happy you three are excited to welcome your new brother. And I'm sure he'll enjoy spending time with each of you doing the activities you all like to do. Both the ones you three do together and separately. Just remember, he will also have things he enjoys doing and you four will have to be fair to each other. Each one of you is unique and different, and that's not a bad thing. It just means it may take a while longer to work everything out. Okay?"

"Okay, dad," Spruce and Clay responded, smiling cheerily now that they were sure their parents weren't mad at them.

At the end of the group, John Dory bit his lip for a moment before answering with his own, "Will do, dad."

"That's my boys!" Reed cheered, pulling them closer and rubbing his head against them. All three Trollings started laughing, mockingly trying to escape the larger Troll's hold.

"Oh!" Aster exclaimed, catching the other four's attention. "I think I felt them shaking again!"

Sure enough, they managed to catch tiny movement coming from the egg.

Everyone eagerly watched as the egg made a small motion one way, then another small motion another, and then stop moving once again. When the egg didn't move for several seconds, the three boys let out sighs of impatience once again.

"Littlest baby bro, you got to come out eventually."

"Is it because we were loud? If so, we're sorry about that."

"Please come out so I'm not the baby anymore!"

The egg shook from side to side, as if responding to their request with a negative.

"Aster, try holding him instead. Maybe he is shy?" Reed suggested, also confused at the egg's actions.

"Well," Aster mused, carefully lifting the egg out of her hair and setting it on her lap. "Maybe 'he' is actually a 'she.' That could be why they won't come out."

"Naw, he's definitely a 'he,'" John Dory countered.

"Yep, my 'brother thing' is going off like crazy," Spruce finished.

"Hmm…" Aster huffed in amusement, her eyes never leaving the egg. Tenderly, she rubbed against the shell and could feel a little hand from inside press against her own. "Well, my little shy one, I'm not sure what you are waiting for. Your brothers are eager to meet you, and your father and I are ready to love you to the Sun and back. Please now, come out."

Nothing happened for several seconds, as if the Troll inside the egg was thinking about Aster's words.

The silence suddenly broke though as the sounds of an egg cracking filled the room. Everyone held their breaths as more cracks spiderwebbed across the eggshell. Once enough cracks formed and stopped, a thin band of black grew from the center until a pair of purple eyes peeked out from between the shell.

The eyes locked on to three brothers, who eagerly waved at them.

That seemed to spook the little Troll, though, as their eyes widened and the tiny gap disappeared as the eggshell pressed itself back together.

All three pouted, eliciting Reed to rub at their arms in comfort.

With a playful huff, Aster cupped her hands under the egg and slowly brought it up until it was at her eye level. "It's okay, little one. Like I said, they're really excited to me you. So come out and say 'hello' to them."

The gap in the middle returned, gradually increasing until it was just a bit larger than the first time. When those purple eyes met Aster's own hue of purple, she smiled brightly. "Almost there, sweetie. Just a little more. Can you do that for me?"

John Dory, Spruce, and Clay quietly waited, doing their best not to make a sound.

Finally, the top of the eggshell lifted again before being carefully pushed over and falling to the floor. Aster slowly brought her arms down, little purple eyes set against teal skin never breaking away from the other.

Reed reached over as Aster brought their fourth child down, softly holding him with one hand as she brushed the bottom shell away and then retracting his hand when she settled the baby in her lap. The new baby followed the arm as it wrapped itself back around the other three, who smiled brightly as they finally got a proper look at their brother. His eyes looked up and down between his brothers and father, a small smile slowly spreading across his face.

"There we go," Reed whispered loudly. "There's the newest member of our family."

"Sorry if we scared you a while ago. We were just so ready to meet you," Aster cooed, gaining the baby's attention as he looked back up at her. "We'll try not to be so pushy next time, little one." The Troll in question smiled brighter, leaning forward and snuggling against his mom's chest as if accepting the apology. Aster gently rubbed a finger across his back, muttering, "Another son. Guess my boys really do have a sixth sense for this."

"But he does have your marvelous eyes, dear," Reed offered. Giving Aster a minute to gift him with a bashful smile, Reed looked down at his other sons, who were still surprisingly quiet. "Alright you three, reintroduce yourselves, and don't be too loud this time. Got it?"

"Got it," they said as Reed withdrew his arms. Clay remained sitting on his lap, while John Dory and Spruce slid down and gathered next to their mom's legs. The baby was startled at first, managing to somehow push himself further into his mom's chest.

"It's okay, it's okay," she whispered over the noise of the others' shuffling.

Once everyone settled, John Dory took the lead as always. "Hey, littlest brother, I'm John Dory. Like I told the other two when they hatched, I'm gonna be the best big brother to you because I'm the oldest."

"I'm Spruce, the second oldest. I've only been an older brother once, so I'm excited to be one again."

"And I'm Clay," the yellow hair Troll started, leaning forward a bit. The baby looked a bit startled at the action but didn't show any other signs of unease. "I used to be the baby brother, but now I get to be an older brother, too. I may not be as good at it as J.D. and Spruce are, but I'm gonna do my best."

Much to everyone's pleasure, the baby pushed himself away from Aster and seemed to relax as he looked over each brother. His little smile widened as he extended out an arm. Eagerly but slowly, the other three reached as well, Clay being closest finding one of his fingers enclosed by the baby's small hand while John Dory and Spruce set their own across the tiny arm.

Aster lifted her hand toward the baby's unoccupied one, beaming when the other tiny hand enclosed around her finger as well. "See? I told you they were excited to meet you. You have some great brothers, little one."

"We can't keep calling him 'little one,' dear," Reed teased, content with just watching the scene. "And I believe it's your turn to name our child."

"That it is… Floyd. I really like the name Floyd for him."

"Floyd it is," the other parent decreed.

Newly named Floyd continued glancing around at the five faces surrounding him, body language still withdrawn more than the other Trolls were used to. However, the wide and bright smiles being thrown his way let him know his family readily loved him anyway.

XXX

"I guess it's Floyd's turn to look like a weird baby," Clay teased as Reed wrapped up his lecture about Troll Gems and closed the scrapbook.

"I still say J.D. was the weirdest one out of all of us," Spruce commented, sitting up from where he had been leaning against his dad's arm.

Standing on the floor, John Dory stuck his tongue out instead of saying anything. One thing the oldest brother had learned quite quickly about Floyd was that he wasn't a big fan of sudden sounds and didn't seem to like it when the older three bickered amongst each other, so for now he tried to minimize the possibility of either happening by resorting to more silent actions.

Floyd followed the scrapbook as it was handed to Clay who slid off the couch and went to place it back on the shelf, breaking his concentration only when Reed slightly pushed him further up his legs until his tiny legs hung off Reed's knees.

"Every Troll is weird in their own way, either by looks or personality. Though what truly matters is that they feel content with themselves. And that they find those moments of joy and happiness in their life."

"Dad, do you know how much all of our hairs have grown?" John Dory asked, swaying from side to side. "I bet mine is taller than a tree!"

"If it's that high, then how will they get the gem down?" Spruce asked with a smirk. "Cause not even you can climb something that high."

"I probably could if I was motivated enough."

"Can we see our hair one day, dad?" Clay questioned as he returned to the group and stared up at their dad. "Maybe today since you and mom have to go plant Floyd's anyway?"

Reed shook his head, a frown marring his normally jovial face. "Definitely not right now, Clay. The meadow where they grow is well hidden and laced with traps and distractions to keep creatures, and even other Trolls, from finding it. It's also still within Bergen territory, making the threat of capture quite high."

"Not to mention that Trollstice is soon," John Dory added, trying to keep his voice neutral even as terror swept through his bones. "Which means they'll be keener on Trolls than usual."

"I don't want to be eaten!" Clay cried, throwing himself against John Dory who didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around him. The commotion and atmosphere caused Floyd to shrink back, and Spruce quickly offered a gentle pat to the youngest member.

"Hey, hey, don't worry, Clay. I didn't say that to scare you or anything. I would never let a Bergen get near any of you! I just wanted you to know that it's best for us to wait to go out until we're all older. That way, we won't have to worry so much."

Clay wiped away a few tears that had escaped during his outburst, but he did calm down at the explanation.

Reed jumped back in. "John Dory is right. When each of you is old enough, I'll teach you the paths out of the Troll Tree and how to survive in the surrounding woods. Think of it like trying out for the Troll Scouts. Once you know how to get in and out safely, you can bring back information for King Peppy and Queen Vita."

"Like what you and mom do," Spruce commented with a smile.

"Exactly. But for now, let's get back to the topic of hair and Troll Gems. To answer your question John Dory, you're about a year or so away from when most Troll Gems usually finish growing. Last I saw, it was actually beginning its bulb phase. Keep up with what you're doing and it will sprout in no time."

"Really? Awesome!"

"Spruce, your stem is growing very well and is really healthy. You'll probably the same age as John Dory when it finishes growing."

"I bet my gem will look really cool!"

"And Clay, your Gem Plant is actually starting to thicken. It's still too early to tell, but I think you will also get your Troll Gem around the same age as John Dory and Spruce."

"That will be so much fun!"

"Which then leaves us with little Floyd here," Reed concluded, poking the thin-stranded, pink hair Troll's tummy and eliciting a quiet giggle. "Who I'm sure will not be lacking in any joy and happiness if his brothers have any say in it."

"There's just one thing we need to do first to start the process," Aster called out as she walked into the living room with her hair cutting items. The boys on the ground quickly moved aside as their mom passed them and sat next to Reed, giving a quick peck on Floyd's head. She eyed the strands of pink hair with fondness, commenting, "Ah, it reminds me of my grandpa Lloyd's coloring. Oh, I bet when his hair fully grows out it will be a lovely shade of pink! Alright, boys-" the Trollings looked up at her with grinning faces as she lifted the tiny bag up. "Who gets the honor this year?"

John Dory and Spruce hardly hesitated as they said, "Clay of course!"

Clay blinked at their rapid response, quickly recovering as he accepted the bag from Aster and opened it up.

As usual, Reed wrapped his hands around Floyd's body to hold him steady, which wasn't really necessary since Floyd was the least active of the boys, but it had become a habit at this point, as Aster brought her scissors to the top of her youngest's head. In a snip, the strands were cut and placed into the bag.

Clay made sure it was snuggly closed before handing it to his mom. "You did just as perfectly as your brothers, Clay," Aster complimented, setting the items in her hair for safe keeping. John Dory patted the second youngest on the back, voicing similar praise.

From his seat on the couch, Spruce tucked his hand under his chin and gave Floyd a long, thoughtful look. Reed noticed this and curiously asked, "What are you thinking about, Spruce?"

After a few seconds, Spruce grinned and stated, "Yeah, J.D. definitely looked the weirdest by far out of all of us."

XXX

If John Dory thought getting used to Spruce and Clay's differences took some adjusting, the scale went beyond his comprehension when Floyd was added to the mix. Not to say he disliked his newest little brother. Far from it! He loved the little guy just as much as he loved the other two when they were also new little guys.

The first major thing John Dory had to get used to was controlling his volume. Now, John Dory never considered himself a very loud Troll when compared against his peers, unless it was during their singing practice. Though in his defense, he was one of a handful of Trollings that could hit the higher notes while still sounding legible, so that really doesn't count. Among his brothers, yes, he did tend to carry his voice over the other two, but that's only to get their attention so they can actually get stuff done instead of wasting hours debating about what they could do.

Which led to the second part of the first major thing, not letting he and his brothers bicker so much with each other. Most of the time, the three of them got along really well. Being so far from the other Trolls, they really had only each other along with their parents and visits from Grandma Rosiepuff. Yes, it took some time for them all to agree on something, but once the agreement was made there was nothing but fun times all around. If they got too heated, one would always walk away for a bit, everyone would cool down, apologies would be passed around, and then they would go right back to what they were doing as if nothing happened.

It was a familiar dynamic by this point, which Floyd didn't seem to really know how to respond to yet.

His littlest brother was the shyest creature John Dory had ever met. That first week, Floyd practically clung to Aster or Reed and seemed adamant in establishing permanent residence in one of their hairs. It wasn't uncommon for John Dory to see either of his parents' hair moving, the owner going on about their task as if they didn't notice. John Dory worried a lot during that time, fearing he had frightened little Floyd so much that he would rather be alone than hang out with any of them.

His father was quick to soothe those fears, taking him aside for one of their walks and explaining that Troll babies normally hid within their parents' hair for at least a couple of weeks after hatching. "You did it for about a week and a half," Reed concluded, stopping the pair so they could rest. "After that, you only went in a few times when you were really scared or if your mother and I couldn't hold you."

"I don't remember Spruce or Clay hiding so much, though," John Dory mused, frowning a bit. "Are you sure it's because I'm not being too loud, or mean, or scary?"

Chuckling lightly, Reed patted his son's hair, saying, "Oh they did hide out a lot, actually. You just happened to be at daycare or doing something else, so you never noticed. As soon as they heard you were around, though, they would pop out and not want to go back.'

"As for Floyd, he always peeks out whenever he hears you around and won't take his eyes off any of you. He's very curious about his surroundings but isn't quite sure how he fits with everything yet, so that's why he's hanging back right now. Give him time and I guarantee that the four of you will be inseparable in no time."

"Right… But I keep worrying because every time Spruce, Clay, me, or a combination of us start getting too loud, Floyd seems to get really scared and bummed out. How am I supposed to get him to like us if we accidently keep scaring him?!"

Reed hummed, looking up at the bit of sky they could see through the leaves and metal bars. "…. Well, maybe you can try NOT being too loud right now. It doesn't have to be forever, just long enough for Floyd to adjust and then just go from there. Think you can handle that, my boy?"

John Dory let out a long sigh, but still answered with, "I'll try my best, dad. I promise. But what about Spruce and Clay? If I have to behave, then they should as well."

"If you make the first move and stick to it, then I know they will follow your lead," Reed countered, humming again as he muttered to himself. "In fact, it's about time I start mentioning to Spruce about some of the Troll Tree stuff, Bergens, and all that anyway. While the two of us are out, you can set the example for Clay."

"Okay that will work for Spruce, but Clay ALWAYS tries to make a game out of everything."

Reed just smiled, teasing, "Well, why does he like making a game out of everything?"

"Because he likes to have fun," John Dory answered, realization dawning on his face. "Oh! I get it now! That's a great idea, dad."

Over the next couple of weeks, John Dory actively monitored himself to make sure he was setting a good example for the other two around the pod. He kept his volume to a decent indoor voice, didn't bounce around as much while inside the pod, and let Spruce and Clay take the lead on their activities.

Spruce eyed him curiously, unsure what exactly the older Trolling was up to, but caught on to the idea when he saw Floyd watching them more openly from his hairy perches. That understanding furthered when Spruce came back from his first solo walk with Reed, one that was sure to multiply into several. John Dory loved spending time alone with his dad, and he was happy to see Spruce start having that time alone as well because his brothers deserved the same opportunity he had.

Clay, in contrast, needed more of a silent nudge to adjust his behavior. John Dory didn't want Clay to completely change who he was, as that wouldn't be fair at all to the yellow haired Trolling. Instead, he redirected Clay's focus into more quiet but still just as fun activities. The favorite ones included coloring while chewing on marshmallows, playing go fish while using only their hair to ask for the desired card (which actually was good practice for all of them anyway), and dancing while only humming the tunes from the songs instead of the full lyrics.

As his dad had predicted, John Dory being a bit more mellow and calm spread to his brothers and all of them noticed how Floyd kept his head out more and more. John Dory could have jumped and hollered for joy at the progress, but he didn't want to accidentally scare Floyd off again, so he kept doing what he was doing. If John Dory was going to be the best biggest brother, then he needed to make sure he executed his plans perfectly! Though if asked, he would honestly admit he was glad when said plans worked out quicker than he expected.

It was a normal evening in their pod that landed on one of Grandma Rosiepuff's visiting nights. She had spent the whole day with the family, brushing off Aster's apologies about Floyd still preferring to stay in her hair with a "He'll come out when he's good and ready. Besides, I still have three other grandsons to get hugs from!" Neither female Troll brought the subject up again, focusing on minor pod chores and cooking an absolutely delicious dinner which included Fluffleberry cake for dessert. John Dory and his brothers could never get enough of the stuff and their dad was always nice enough to let the other family members have his share, even if John Dory had never seen him ever take a single bite first and his mom always had that 'impish' smile when the cake was presented to him.

Once dinner concluded and everything was cleaned up, the adults lazily kneeled around the coffee table playing Grandma Rosiepuff's favorite card game while the Trollings entertained themselves a few meters away. John Dory led the little trio in a rousing game of music scale hacky sack, which involved the kicker having to tune through a whole scale chosen by the previous kicker. It was a noisier game compared to the other ones he recently came up with, but John Dory figured the combined physical exertion and concentration on the scale would be enough to keep any of them (namely Clay) from getting too rowdy.

Sure enough, the noise volume was elevated but relatively manageable since only one Trolling sang at a time while the other two confirmed the scale was completed correctly. The three were so engrossed in their game that none of them noticed Aster's hair quietly part, little purple eyes studying them intently as Floyd carefully maneuvered himself down. The adults made sure not to stare or interfere even when Floyd stumbled when he finally dropped on to the carpet. Simply watching him with soft smiles as he drew in deep breath and crawled over to the others.

"-La… Ti… Do. E flat Major!" John Dory called out, preparing to kick the hacky sack to another participant when Spruce suddenly told him to look.

Being in mid-kick, John Dory's concentration wavered and what was meant to be a smooth kick from his toes ended up being an off angled hit to the side of his foot. The hacky sack fell to the floor a little bit away from Floyd, who stared at the object for a quick second before moving his head back up.

John Dory sighed at Spruce, saying to him as he turned, "Spruce, why would you inter-"

Silence rang out in John Dory's ears as his eyes registered the sight of Floyd, moving his legs back until he sat serenely on the floor in front of them. Purple eyes blinked up from a tilting head into the green eyes directly in front, moving over to the other pairs of green eyes as Spruce and Clay took a few steps forward.

None of the four made any sound or motion for a long minute.

Then slowly, a bright, big smile stretched across Floyd's face as he reached his arms out toward the other three, laughing in pure delight.

John Dory was the first to break out of whatever trance the older brothers had been in, smiling widely himself as he bent down, calmly picked up Floyd, and spun around back to the other two, teasing, "Floyd, did you and Spruce plan on breaking my concentration so I would lose? Because that's not a nice thing to do."

"Cross my heart, J.D., we did not plan that," Spruce protested in good nature, taking one of the small hands into his own. "You just messed up."

"Only because you distracted me. Is this how you treat your oldest brother? How cruel you all are!"

"Guess Floyd finally decided he wanted to play with us," Clay commented, poking at said Troll's feet and grinning when he was rewarded with a screeching laugh. "Though we'll have to pick something different to do now. Because he doesn't know the scales yet."

John Dory felt something brushing against is neck and when he looked down, Floyd reached his free hand up and lightly hit the older Troll's mouth. When nothing happened, he let out a tiny frown and did the same thing. Spruce snorted next to them, while Clay tilted his head in confusion.

Realization dawned in John Dory's features, and he carefully intercepted Floyd's third hit with a gentle squeeze and started tuning to the C Major scale. As expected, Floyd's frown softened to a smile as he eagerly listened to his brother's voice.

As John Dory wrapped up the scale and the final note echoed out, Spruce repeated the same scale and elicited another positive reaction from Floyd. Seeing what the others were doing, Clay didn't hesitate to copy the other pair's actions once Spruce's note faded.

And that's how the rest of the night went: the three brothers singing scales for their fourth brother while the adults continued at their card game, smiles almost as bright as the boys'.

XXX

Of all the holidays and special occasions to have ever been created, Trollstice was the only one that John Dory hated with every fiber of his being. Even 'Eat All Your Vegetables' Day absolutely shined in comparison to the annual day where he worried the Bergens would finally discover his family's hidden location and cook them all into what was surely a delicious meal for any being that enjoyed Troll.

Similar to previous years, his parents had ushered the four children with them past the pod, up the tree path, and into the secret knot before securing the door behind them. A parent sat on either end of the group, John Dory and Spruce pressed against each parent with Clay bundled in their arms and baby Floyd clinging to Clay's neck. The smallest Troll had stopped hiding out in his parents' hair as much after that evening, preferring to latch on to one of his brothers instead.

This year though, John Dory swore Reed and Aster had bolted away much earlier than usual. He dimly remembered the last two years seeing trace sunlight on Trollstice before being led into the dark tree knot that would occupy his visual for the rest of the day. However, his parents had woken all of them up with much greater panic than they usually let display and John Dory couldn't see any trace of the sunrise through the windows. Clay was the closest being to Floyd when the baby was startled awake and clung to Trollings neck, and there wasn't any time to convince the little guy to go with Reed, Aster, or one of the older boys instead. Unwilling to delay, John Dory had wordlessly scooped Clay in his arms, making sure he didn't accidently squash Floyd during the shuffle, and followed after Aster as she led them out of the pod and down the familiar route to their safe place. He could hear Spruce a step behind them with Reed bringing up the rear.

When they reached the spot, Spruce pressed himself against John Dory as Reed helped Aster quickly open the secret door. Floyd quietly whimpered as he processed the tense air around his family, prompting the two oldest siblings to soothingly shush him as Clay tried rocking him the best he could while also be in someone else's arms. It wasn't until the door was opened, everyone filed away inside, and the six were plunged into near darkness did things ironically lighten up a bit.

Another difference John Dory noticed this year, besides the additional Troll joining them, was the noise from the Bergens seemed much louder this time and didn't fade away as quickly as it usually did. Normally he would hear the giant creatures lumber around outside, spouting off cheers at the day's festivities and shouting out in excitement whenever they scooped up Trolls outside their safe spot before the commotion would quickly move on. This time, the lumbering lasted much longer, the shouting didn't fade out like it used to, and all of them (Reed and Aster included) nearly screamed when their small space practically vibrated as something big knocked against the tree.

Clay pressed Floyd against his chest, rubbing circles against his back to provide comfort for the both of them. Spruce, an arm around Clay's shoulder and the other snaking around the limbs holding Floyd, leaned his head down on top of the yellow hair and whispered as low as he could, "Everything will be alright. I promise."

John Dory observed his two younger brothers for several seconds, feeling his gut twist and heave at the sight of Floyd's subdued but usually happy face scrunched in pure fright and Clay's normally peppy energy being released as terror shakes. Over the pair's heads, he shared a long stare with Spruce, nodded to each other, and then added on just as quietly, "Spruce is right. This will all be over soon, and then we can all go back home." He mirrored Spruce's arm placements, using his small height advantage to lean his head against the other older Trolling. There was a noticeable ease in tension on Clay's end as his body shakes slowed down and Floyd shyly pulled is head far back enough to stare at the Trolls above.

A boom of large rustling rang out again, followed by the indistinguishable words of a Bergen.

Smiling his brightest smile as the urge to cry overwhelmed him, John Dory hugged his brothers tighter, muttering softly, "We're gonna get pass this Trollstice just like we've gotten past the other ones. And I'll fight any Bergen tooth and hair that even looks at ya." John Dory felt one of his parents squeeze his shoulder in solidarity, both super focused on gauging the noise outside and trusting in their eldest to calm the younger ones as always. "Long as I'm around, nothing bad is gonna happen to any of you."

John Dory could see Clay exhale softly and felt the Trolling's shaking stop fully. Spruce responded with a deep and calm 'hum,' easing his grip a bit but not dropping his arms from where they were. A sudden touch on his arm sparked John Dory's attention, looking down to see Floyd's outstretched hand laying near the crook of John Dory's elbow. Purple eyes bore up into green as the tiny face previously marred in fear softened into trust.

While the Bergens kept shouting, their hiding spot shook from continued banging, and the so faint cries of Trolls reached their ears, the six of them remained silent in each other's arms. Frightened but glad they were all together.

And that's where I'll leave things at. Thank you for reading this up til the end! Hopefully some of the events were not too repetitive or anything, but I really wanted to use John Dory as a starting base for the other brothers.

Few notes: Fluffleberry cake was introduced in "The Fluffleberry Quest" in T:TBGO as being something Branch's grandma made for him all the time. It's also revealed the cake is pretty disgusting to most Trolls' tastes, so I head cannoned Grandma Rosiepuff's direct family would be the only ones who like it (poor Reed, being an in-law can be rough).

For the ages of the brothers, I read they are all about a year apart, so when Floyd was born that would make Clay around 1, Spruce around 2, and John Dory around 3. Pretty close in age, but I know families with those kind of age gaps, and even have one friend who has nieces and nephews older than her. Just how it goes sometimes.

Anywho, not much else to say so I'll sign off here. Thank you once again for reading and be on the look out for other additions to this series and some of my other little stories. Until next time!