When Willow was five, she officially met the young princess Poppy for the first time. She had followed her brother Branch into the woods to gather more supplies. Growing bored, she started looking around at the trees. "Branch, what are we looking for again?"

Branch rolled his eyes, annoyed. "We need to gather more food. We also need to get wood, water, and supplies for our brother's rooms."

Willow nodded thoughtfully and ran to catch up to her brother. "Couldn't we get the supplies for our brother's rooms in the village?" She asked, curious. "I think I saw some blankets in the market. And if we build the waterslide, we'll never have to worry about getting water again."

Branch tensed up. "I don't think I can go into the village. It's too noisy. What if they attract the Burgens?"

Willow sighed and nodded. Her brother was still afraid of the Burgens getting to them. "Alright." She looked up at her brother. "Can we sheer some puffalo and make yarn from their wool?" She grinned widely. "I can learn to knit and make blankets for them."

Branch nodded in thought. It would keep Willow safe and in the bunker where he could keep a better eye on her. "Sure. I can learn how to make yarn. It could be a useful skill to have later."

Willow was about to say something else when they heard the growl of a very large animal. Her ears perked up. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Branch muttered. "But it didn't sound good." He started walking back toward their bunker. "We should get back." When Willow didn't answer, he looked behind him. "Come on, Willow." But she wasn't behind him anymore. "Are you playing a game right now?" He asked, annoyed. "Willow? Come on, this is not the time to be playing games." When he didn't hear her giggle from her hiding place like she always did when playing hide-and-seek, his annoyance turned into fear. "Please tell me you just got better at playing hide-and-seek and you didn't run towards the growling thing in the woods."

Branch tossed the wood he had gathered and started running towards the noise he heard earlier. When he got close enough, he could hear the growls from earlier. Willow was hiding in a tree with a smaller pink troll. A small herd of growl-beasts surrounded the tree.

Branch sighed in relief, climbed up a tree, and used his hair to swing to the branch his sister was hiding in. "What are you doing up here?" He asked annoyed.

Willow looked at him and grinned. "I found what was doing the growling," She told him proudly. "They were going to get Poppy here and I got her to safety."

Poppy looked at Branch and smiled up at him. "Hi, I'm Poppy. Wanna be friends?"

Willow smirked. "We're friends already." She looked down. "But I don't know how to get out of this yet."

Branch rolled his eyes and grabbed onto Poppy. "You remember how to use your hair to swing, right?" When Willow nodded, he looked at Poppy. "Climb onto my back and we'll get out of here. Follow me," he told Willow. "And don't fall behind."

When the trio were safely away from the growl-beasts, Branch put Poppy down and looked at his sister. "What were you thinking running off like that?" He asked, frustrated. "You could have gotten hurt." He looked at Poppy. "And what were you even doing that far out of the village? You're the princess. You need to be more careful."

Willow looked confused at her brother. "But I was fine. And I had to know what the growling was." She shrugged. "Turns out it was growl-beasts."

Branch groaned in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you? Things that growl are not friendly. It's best to avoid them at all costs."

"But you growl all the time!" Willow pointed out, annoyed. "If I listened to that advice, I'd never be around you."

Poppy tilted her head as she watched the two interact. She giggled. "You two are funny. You want to come to my birthday party?" She smiled. "I'm turning four."

Branch shook his head. "There is no way we're going to some loud party in the village." He took his sister's and Poppy's hands. "Let's get the princess home and we'll get back to the bunker."

Willow sighed and nodded at her brother. It was best not to argue with him about parties. She smiled back at Poppy. "Don't mind him. He just really doesn't like parties."

Poppy giggled and nodded, determined to get the two siblings to accept a party invitation one day.

When the siblings got back to the village, they left Poppy there and made their way back to the bunker. Willow hugged her brother's arm. "I'm sorry I scared you earlier. I just really wanted to know what that noise was."

Branch sighed and let his sister hug him. "It's fine. I just...I can't lose you too. I need you to be more careful. Can you do that?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah. I can do that." With their foraging plans forgotten, Willow went into the living room area of the bunker and started working on one of the puzzles they got until it was time for dinner. After dinner, it was time for a shower and then bed. "Branch?" Willow asked as they were going into their separate rooms. "Would it be okay if I go play with Poppy someday?" When it looked like he was about to protest, she pouted at him. "Please? I like Poppy and she seems nice."

Branch sighed, tired. "Fine. As long as you stay in the village, you can spend time with Poppy. It might be a good idea if you're not isolated from the other trolls," he admitted crossing his arms.

"Really?" Willow grinned widely and hugged her brother. "Thank you! I'll be super careful. I'll even gather supplies while I'm in the village so we don't have to forage for everything." She squeezed him tighter, knowing despite his current aversion to hugs, he loved them from her. "Goodnight, Branch. I love you." And with that, she went to her room to get some sleep.

It was hours after the two had gone to bed when Willow woke up to a sniffling noise. Concerned, she climbed out of bed and walked out of her room. Branch had been having nightmares every night. She knew a lot of them had to do with their runaway brothers. And more of them were about their grandma getting eaten. She also knew he would never go to her for any form of comfort.

Yawning a little she rubbed her eyes and opened her brother's bedroom door. "Branch?" She asked making her voice a little sad. "Are you awake?"

Branch picked up his head and looked at the door. "Willow? What are you doing up?"

"I had a nightmare," She said, her voice small. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Branch sighed and nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked when she crawled into bed. Seeing her shake her head, he nodded and laid down beside her. "It's okay, little sis. I'm here and you're safe."

When Branch finally went back to sleep, Willow smiled and snuggled closer to her big brother. "Don't worry, Branch. Everything will be okay."

And here's chapter two! Hope you like it everybody! I think I have one more chapter to post before we start with the actual movie. Thank you for reading everyone!