AN: Man, oh man, does it feel good to finally get this chapter out. It has been a WHILE. On top of all the personal things going on like school, work and general life stuff, it was hard to figure out where to go with this chapter and how much information to give away. It's tough having so much information about your characters and not being sure of how to disperse it. I was planning on finishing this in December, but I didn't. With all that said, here it is. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TROLLS. IT IS OWNED BY DREAMWORKS.
After leaving Corduroy's pod, Ebony soon found herself in King Peppy's pod with her present company. King Peppy sat in his armchair, Ebony was across from him sitting on the couch with Branch and Corduroy on either side. Poppy, Satin, and Chenille chose to sit on the floor by their respective parents.
It was safe to say that Ebony's feelings about King Peppy were uncertain. She hadn't interacted with him much in the past and the few times that she did were not the most positive of circumstances. So as she sat across from King Peppy, she felt a decent amount of awkwardness. She hadn't felt any fondness as she had with her son and Corduroy or even Dr. Plum to an extent. Of course, the distance of time made it hard to evaluate a proper opinion of him. She supposed that would change in time.
King Peppy had gotten wider around the middle and his graying hair had begun to deflate, letting loose unkempt tufts. His eyes were more relaxed, but still had some fire in them. Like everyone else, he was surprised that she was alive and had managed to find them. This was followed by relief and happiness at her miraculous survival/arrival. He looked over at Branch while expressing happiness for him as well to which Branch, standing nearby, looked away bashfully (to which her heart warmed). Ebony was polite in her responses and even managed to smile a couple of times, but she couldn't help feeling somewhat detached.
It wasn't until he asked where she's been that he had her full attention. She looked around the room, gaging the faces of everyone. King Peppy, Princess Poppy, Corduroy, satin and Chenille, and Branch had expressions of unwavering curiosity. The very familiar sense of self preservation crept into her gut. While Ebony knew that there was no real danger in telling them, she also knew that the details would vary depending on who she was talking to. She recalled Dr. Plum's hesitant reaction to her mentioning other Troll villages and had guessed that it was an avoided or undiscussed topic. One that she would certainly discuss soon enough, especially if the king knew about them.
She chose to answer truthfully, but carefully just in case.
"I was stuck in Bergen Town for a while," she began. "Somewhere between five and six months."
She noticed Branch tense up at the mention of Bergen Town, so she reached over and placed a gentle hand on his.
"By the time I made it out, you were all gone."
There was a hint of bitterness in her tone, but it was directed at the reminder of that situation rather than at the trolls. King Peppy's face pinched, showing his displeasure and regret at unintentionally leaving a troll behind. He glanced over at Poppy, seeing her surprised and invested expression. Of course, she knew about their history with Bergen Town, but he didn't want her to be exposed to anything too distressing. She was still young, after all.
Corduroy had a forlorn expression as he thought back to when they made it through the tunnels and out of Bergen Town. King Peppy almost fell behind, but made it out by the skin of his teeth. He remembered watching the tunnels, hoping by some miracle that she would emerge, regardless of her condition. The last of his hope for her survival had just about died out and was fully gone when they got to what is now Troll Village. Ebony had been lost to him just like his kind friend Mentha and his fluorescent wife Chiffon. He couldn't even look at the gray, orphaned Branch, because he didn't want to affect him. It was for naught as by then, the young troll had already made up his mind that his family was gone and wouldn't come back. It broke his heart seeing Branch so hopeless and angry while in the care of those who were unsure of how to approach him, making Corduroy all the more grateful when he was put into his custody. Corduroy shook his head to avoid going down a rabbit hole of his inner thoughts. Ebony was with them now and that's all that mattered. Noticing the look on their father's face, the twins both scooted closer to him. Subconsciously, he ran a hand along their conjoined hair.
Ebony continued.
"At some point they closed off the Troll Tree, so I couldn't follow your tracks."
"The tunnels had collapsed after we got out," King Peppy said gravely. "Mostly because of the damage from the Bergens' shovels."
Poppy frowned at her father's tone, but quickly recovered.
"How did you get out?" Branch asked, bluntly.
"I went through the Town," she answered just as bluntly. "It wasn't easy and I hadn't gone unnoticed by them, but I made it."
She felt a twang of frustration at herself for leaving parts out, but reasoned with herself that she would rectify that in due time. Her son seemed to be especially sensitive about the Bergens and she didn't want to overwhelm him with graphic details. She was already feeling anxious at the memory of running and hiding while escaping Bergen Town. Her heart rate briefly spiked up and unbeknownst to her, so had Branch's.
"They didn't … follow you, did they?" Peppy asked, tentatively.
Everyone in the room felt a chill go up their spines. Even Poppy was caught off guard by that thought. Ebony felt herself getting riled up, remembering the desperation and adrenaline she felt on the day she escaped, trying not to get caught after she had been spotted.
"No," she said with testiness. "It's been years, I would've noticed."
Involuntarily, an image popped into her head of a scene just days after she had escaped. She was hiding in a tree because she heard big footsteps approaching her walking path. Because her black hair wouldn't camouflage for her, she was forced to hide under a, thankfully, empty bird's nest. Chef, who had been banished after the trolls escaped, had stepped into view. She was looking for them. And she was angry.
From that moment, Ebony swore on every hair on her scalp that she wouldn't let Chef find them.
"Fuck," Ebony said, shaking her head to rid herself of the invading memory.
Everyone in the room was caught off guard by her abrupt language. While trolls weren't put off by swearing, the heavier swear words were rarely heard. King Peppy didn't pay much attention to it on account of how shaken she sounded. Branch and Corduroy were more focused on the reaction itself. Watching her rub her hands over her face, Corduroy noticed that they were slightly trembling. Branch recognized the distraught tone of voice that he was all too familiar with as well as the staring off into space. What had those Bergens done to his mom?
"I didn't mean anything by it, Ebony," King Peppy said, apologetically.
"I know," she said, quickly. "I just-"
Ebony found that she was too flustered to finish her sentence. She hated how much this subject affected her, but she didn't need to explain to a room full of trolls why reliving escaping the Bergens was traumatizing. Trying not to lose control, she reasoned with herself that Chef was gone. That last time that she saw Chef was years ago and the Bergen was paralyzed by a giant spider. Ebony felt her survivalist voice harshly telling her, "that doesn't guarantee that she's dead". She knew that it was true, feeling a shiver up her spine. She'd speak with King Peppy about that in private. Great, another thing to discuss with the King.
"It's alright," King Peppy said. "Can you tell us what happened after you escaped?"
Ebony took a moment to regain her composure before continuing.
"Well, I suspected sometime later that I went in the opposite direction. It took me a long time to even get back on track."
She tightly gripped the couch as she remembered the unhinged frustration and near despair that she felt from that realization.
"Just when I thought I had an idea of where you were, something threw me off course," Ebony continued. "Whether it was a serious injury, a predator, the weather, exhaustion, or other towns and villages. It was always something."
Ebony knew that she was speaking bluntly about an unusual situation, but that was the best way to speak of it. She knew that it was mostly her resolve speaking, but she didn't want to appear weak, even to her people. She was still adjusting to the reality of being "safe", but it was hard. Since Ebony was a young trolling without parents, she had no illusions of the world being safe. That being said, she was still a troll. Even when trolls experience pain and loss, they have a home. Even when she was a quiet, loner teenager, she at least felt the security of her troll community. Begrudgingly so, but still. There is a difference between feeling alone and actually being alone. That was something that became evident to her throughout her journey to find the trolls. It isn't until you're forced into the outside world that you realize how much bigger it is than what you knew. And how small you are in comparison.
Ebony noticed that most of the trolls in the room had not reacted much to her mentioning other towns. Ebony had not explicitly mentioned other trolls, so perhaps they thought she was referring to other sentient species. Trolls in general usually kept to their own kind and respective homes. Ebony did however notice that King Peppy tensed up. Now, she suspected that the King was still holding out information about the other types of trolls and the strings. She herself had to learn from meeting some of them during the last ten years. If no one else knew but King Peppy, then she had a bone to pick with him. She never cared for willful ignorance, but projected ignorance was inexcusable. Theyabsolutelywere going to speak about this later.
Meanwhile Branch was trying to get a grasp on how far his mother had been from them and how it took her so long to find them.How did you miss us with how loud the trolls have been?Branch thought, but wisely kept it to himself. He knew it wasn't her fault, but that didn't stop the bitter feelings from creeping up.
"Even when I got close to you all, something impeded me," she said, pointing to her arm injury.
As if just noticing, everyone's (except Branch's, Poppy's, and Courduroy's) eyes turned to her arm wrapping.
"What happened?" King Peppy asked.
"She got stung by a horse wasp after killing it," Poppy blurted out.
That landed Ebony several widened gazes.
"Wait, what?" Satin and Chenille asked.
"You actually killed a horse wasp?" King Peppy asked.
"You were stung?" Corduroy asked.
"Yes," she said, answering all of them. "But I was found and treated. It isn't a big deal."
Corduroy gave her a disbelieving look that said,Girl, really?
She couldn't help but smile at the nostalgic feeling that look gave her. God, they needed to catch up soon.
"Anymore," Ebony clarified.
"Don't those things usually go for vital organs?" Chenille couldn't help but ask.
It earned her a pointed look from her father.
"I'm just asking," she said.
Branch couldn't help but feel proud that Chenille remembered that fact from one of his predator lectures.
"Oh, it tried," Ebony said. "Thankfully, it couldn't get through this."
Ebony patted her abdomen which was covered by her hunting vest.
"How strong is that core, Eb?" Corduroy asked, with a raised eyebrow.
She gave him a dry look.
"The vest, Corduroy."
He smirked, proud of his lame joke.
This man.
"What's it made of?" Satin asked.
"Reinforced spider silk," she said, matter-of-factly.
The twins and Branch seemed super fixated on her protective apparel. On the front side of her torso, the vest had a few dents in it, but no broken fabric.
"Fashion that's cute-" Satin started.
"-and indestructible?" Chenille continued.
"That's super cool," Satin and Chenille said, simultaneously.
Branch absently nodded at the statement as the wheels in his head were spinning on the potential applications of spider silk.Weather proofing, Armor, Bergen resistance-
Ebony and Corduroy couldn't help but smile at their respective children's enamorment. Ebony was about to explain that the vest wasn't exactly indestructible before Poppy spoke.
"How'd you get spider silk?" Poppy asked, leaning forward.
Ebony pursued her lips as she decided that she'd rather not talk about one of her many close encounters with death that ended with an unconscious, hog-tied spider. Not at the moment, at least. She'd gotten two souvenirs from that day: spider silk and a notched ear.
"I think that's a story for another day," Ebony said.
"But-"
"Now Poppy, that's enough," King Peppy said.
Poppy settled with an unsatisfied pout.
"I think that we can pick this up another time, Ebony," King Peppy decided. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing."
Ebony couldn't agree more.
"Actually, I think that your daughter was about to give me a tour, along with my son," Ebony responded. "Weren't you?"
Poppy's pouty face disappeared in less than a second as she hopped onto her feet in excitement.
"Yes! Poppy exclaimed. "There's so much to show you!"
She grabbed Branch's hand and pulled.
"Come on, Branch," she said. "I need my co-tourist."
Branch rolled his eyes and got up alongside Poppy, his mom following his lead.
"We'll come with you," Satin said. "Right, Chenille?"
"Sure," Chenille answered. "Dad?"
"Why not?" Corduroy asked. "Need to stretch my legs, anyway."
They all bid King Peppy farewell and left the Royal Pod.
"-and that's Maddy's hair salon."
"Where your hair mobility goes to die," Branch added.
"Says the troll with no body," Chenille said, glancing at Branch's hair.
Branch glared at her, but she was unaffected.
"And over there is the village spa-," Poppy continued.
"Which is amAZING!" Satin squealed.
"If you like trolls manhandling your metatarsals," Branch grunted.
"He doesn't like his feet being touched," Satin explained to Ebony.
"Or any other part of him, really," Chenille said, smirking.
"Branch, stop being a sourpuss," Poppy said.
"I'm offering perspective," he said. "No one said that included being upbeat."
"You know, I could make this a singing tour instead," Poppy said with a wicked grin.
"... they also have decent smelling towels," Branch conceded.
The girls all giggled in delight while Corduroy shook his head in amusement. He shared a smile with Ebony, who was taking in all of the information. Everything felt very similar to her previous home yet also unfamilar and almost new. She was also taking note of some names that Princess Poppy mentioned prior. She recalled Cybil and Maddy, who she remembered were teenagers at the time of the escape. Another familiar name was Mags Gumdrop. That stirred up another bittersweet memory as she remembered taking her improv class as a teenager. She was pretty decent at it, but never worked particularly well with other trolls. Except for three: Corduroy, Chiffon... and Mentha.
As they continued the tour, trolls were still staring at her, but now with recognition and bewilderment. It seemed that word still spread pretty fast with trolls. Most of them, at least as the younger trolls were not so familiar with her. It was almost like she was a familiar stranger. Many of them approached her to welcome her back to which she responded with a simple "thank you". While she did appreciate it, she did not want to have extended conversations with so many trolls. She got anxious when they started to crowd her, but thankfully, Corduroy and Branch let them know that she needed space.
"That's the outdoor cafeteria and-"
Poppy stopped as if she noticed something.
"Oh! It's the Snack Pack!" Poppy squealed.
Branch looked over and felt his stomach drop when he saw all members of the Snack Pack sitting at a table.
"The what?" Ebony asked.
"Our friends," Poppy explained. "You should totally meet them!"
"Wait, Poppy-" Branch began.
"Guys! Over here!" Poppy shouted.
Poppy sped off, meeting the Snack Pack halfway and they exchanged their greetings. Satin and Chenille remained by Branch's side, sensing his apprehension. It seemed that Poppy was explaining the situation to her friends as they couldn't take their eyes off of Branch or Ebony. He couldn't help but tense up as he involuntarily recalled the night of the get together. Of course, they signed that card and gave him that care package, but he wasn't ready to talk to them.
"It's okay," Chenille whispered.
"No one's upset with you," Satin also whispered.
He remained silent while his mother looked curiously at them.
When Poppy returned with the teens who were looking at Branch and Ebony with awe.
Here we go.
"Ms. Ebony, these are our friends: Biggie, Guy Diamond, Cooper, Creek, Smidge, and DJ Suki," Poppy introduced. "Guys, this is Ms. Ebony, Branch's mom."
Ebony's eyes quickly assessed each of the teens, recognizing a few of them, namely Creek and Cooper. Then, she greeted them with a smile.
"Nice to meet you all," she finally said.
They were all shocked for a moment, but proceeded to welcome her with troll enthusiasm. It didn't take long for the questions and excitable statements to follow along with the crowding. Ebony did her best to keep up with them.
"When did you get here?" Biggie asked.
"Just two nights ago," Ebony answered.
"I love your voice," Smidge said.
"Oh, thank you," she said, caught off guard by the small, feminine troll's baritone voice.
"Is that your natural hair color?" Guy Diamond. "Have you tried putting glitter in it?"
"No."
"You look a lot like Branch," DJ said.
"Technically, he looks like-"
"Where have you been?" Cooper blurted out.
"I'd rather not go into that," she said, firmly.
The only one who remained silent was Creek, who continued to stare at her with a look of disbelief. Branch's mom had survived and somehow found them. It was baffling, to say the least. Even the most optimistic troll wouldn't have thought such a thing to be possible. With the teens getting closer to her as they continued to talk, Ebony was starting to get overwhelmed.
"Okay, kids, take it easy, give her some space," Corduroy said.
They listened to Corduroy and backed up some. At this moment, DJ was the one who turned her attention to Branch and the twins.
"Hey girls," DJ said, giving him a soft smile. "Hey Branch."
"Um, hi," Branch responded, avoiding eye contact.
The Snack Pack all turned their attention to Branch.
"Oh, we're sorry Branch," Biggie said. "How are you?"
"Uh… I'm better, I guess," he responded.
"We didn't mean to ignore you guys," Guy Diamond said, apologetically.
"Boy, please," said Chenille, hands on her hips. "We just saw you two hours ago, not two years."
"Sweet as always, Chenille," Guy said, smirking.
Corduroy smiled at his daughter with a twinkle in his eyes. He looked at Ebony and could tell that she was thinking the exact same thing.She's just like her mother.
Just when Branch was starting to feel relieved that the attention was off of him, there was a collective "ding" sound that made his eyes widen with fear.
"Hug Time!" Poppy exclaimed.
Branch had just left Corduroy's pod when the last one went off and tolerated the group hug from Poppy and the twins. Now he was surrounded by the Snack Pack who were eying him with intention. Thankfully, Satin and Chenille saved him by wrapping their arms around him.
"Dibs," the twins said, playfully sticking their tongues out at the Snack Pack.
Thankfully, they were good natured and shrugged while enveloping each other in a group hug. Corduroy had taken the time to fill Ebony in on what Hug Time was. While she was not particularly fond of the idea, she was baffled that it apparently took place every hour. After Hug Time, Poppy told the Snack Pack that they would meet up at her (sub)pod after the tour. Branch, knowing that she was including him, felt his anxiety pick up again. He would usually try to get out of it, but he wouldn't leave his mom in the village by herself while he snuck back to his bunker. Plus, he did still need to pick up his gifts from Poppy's place.
"Creek, is your mother in her pod?" Corduroy suddenly asked.
Ebony felt her pulse pick up as she remembered her old friend.
"She should be," Creek answered. "She began her deep meditation over an hour ago."
"Great, Ebony and I are gonna head there after the tour," Corduroy said.
Poppy took that as a cue and grabbed Branch's arm, continuing their walk and bid her friends farewell.
Poppy and Branch were able to wrap up the tour in about twenty minutes. They ended with a detailed explanation of the pod layout before preparing to head to Poppy's pod. Satin and Chenille both gave their dad a quick hug and kiss on his cheeks. Ebony held Branch's face and gave him a kiss on the forehead, promising that she'd be back soon. Branch's face warmed up as she, once again, stroked a hand along his hair, then pulled away. He gave her a nod of understanding before turning to leave with the girls. They were all smiling hard at his rosy face and he mothed "shut up" to which they only giggled. Ebony watched him go with his friend and evidently his sisters, and suddenly felt very hesitant to take her eyes off him.
"He'll be alright," Corduroy said, gently. "He's with loved ones."
"I know," Ebony said.
She cast one more look at her son before turning back to Corduroy.
"Let's go," she said.
When they made it to the pod, Ebony felt something similar to what she had before seeing Corduroy again. There was excitement, of course, but also overwhelming anxiety.
"Eb," Corduroy said. "You alright?"
She took a deep breath, hand placed on her chest as if to calm her heartbeat, and nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "I can do this."
He patted her encouragingly on the shoulder, leading them to the door and knocking.
"It's open," called a voice, soft yet clear.
Ebony felt a smile ease onto her face. She still answered the door the same way.
Corduroy took his cue and opened the door, spotting the troll in question. Brook was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. She popped her eyes open.
"Corduroy?" Brook asked.
"Afternoon Brook," Corduroy greeted.
"You haven't stopped by in a while," Brook said. "Your aura seems a bit off, by the way."
"That good or bad?" he asked.
"That remains to be seen, my friend," she responded.
Corduroy knew that it was best to do this quickly.
"Well, I kind of have a surprise for you," he admitted.
Brook raised her eyebrow in surprise.
"Nothing loud, I hope,"
He admittedly felt a sense of unbridled giddiness that he was sure she noticed.
"Just the opposite, really," he said.
Corduroy looked to his side and gestured his head towards the inside of the pod. The moment that Ebony came into frame and walked into the yogi troll's pod, she felt another wave of nostalgia along with warmth. The turquoise troll stared back at her with astounded blue eyes and her mouth agape. Ebony noticed that her hair still had an ombre effect, starting from lavender and ascending to almost white. She also still wore loose pants and a fitted top.
"Hey Brook," she said with a cracked voice.
Brook slowly unfolded her legs and rose off the floor.
"My stars," Brook said. "Ebony, is it-?"
"It's me, B," Ebony confirmed.
Brook walked until she was in front of her. She took a good, long look at her face before reaching out to grab her hands. She gently squeezed them as if to make sure Ebony was really there. Her eyes slowly filled with tears as did Ebony's.
"You gonna hug her or what?" Corduroy asked.
Before Ebony could scold him, Brook closed the gap and gave her a gentle yet firm hug that radiated relief and happiness. Ebony returned it, feeling an intense mix of happiness, sadness, and guilt. Unconsciously, she tightened the hug, but pulled away when Brook flinched.
"I'm sorry," Ebony said, through tears.
"It's alright," Brook assured, voice tight. "I have stiff joints, that's all."
Ebony wanted to question that but decided to bring it up later.
"I take it you weren't expecting to see me," Ebony said.
Corduroy snorted while Brook let out a far more reserved laugh.
"I'd always hoped, but after the years went by, I-"
"I know," Ebony said. "I promise I'll tell you all about it later."
"It's as if you're back from the dead," Brook said.
"I know, right?" Corduroy said.
"It kind of feels like it," Ebony admitted.
"I can't believe you've lost so much weight," Brook said.
"Bet none of you thought that I could get smaller, huh?" Ebony joked.
It worked as she gave another dainty laugh.
"That torso's still rock hard, though," Corduroy said.
"Boy, would you give that a rest?" Ebony said.
"What?" he asked. "You give strong hugs, it's hard not to notice."
Brook looked at them with a familiar fond smile.
"After all these years, you two are still the same," Brook said.
"Damn straight," Corduroy said.
"I can't believe I'm even standing here," Ebony said, with a certain heaviness.
"Get used to it, Eb," Corduroy said.
He moved to the space between the two women.
"'Cause we're not letting you go," he promised, pulling them into a hug.
Brook nodded as her and Corduroy rested their heads onto Ebony's. Ebony closed her eyes and leaned into the embrace, allowing herself to believe that promise.
Meanwhile, at Poppy's place, the Snack Pack had all met up, as promised. They all sat down in the main area, waiting on some cookies that Poppy placed in the oven. They all took turns talking about their own respective things. Creek was trying a hands free yoga routine, Smidge was talking about her hopes in going up a weight class, Biggie was thinking about getting a pet worm, and Cooper just passed his final exam in pyrotechnics. Branch sat and listened to everyone, but still felt some residual anxiousness from the last time he was there. Thankfully, no one had brought it up. He looked at Poppy in surprise as she showed up by his side with a wheelbarrow. He suddenly remembered that he said that he needed one for the gifts.
"Told ya I had a wheelbarrow," she said.
"No you didn't," Branch responded.
"Oh, I must've just thought it," she said.
Well, that certainly saved him a trip to his bunker. He resisted the urge to collect all the gifts and make an excuse to leave as he knew that Poppy, Satin, and Chenille would be upset with him. He could tough out social interaction for a bit longer.
"Did you like those cupcakes, Branch?" Biggie asked.
Branch realized that, last night, in his haste to get food to his mother, he had ignored the neatly contained cupcakes in favor of the more available fruit and cookies.
"I haven't tried them," Branch said, slightly embarrassed.
He had a brief anxiety spike as he realized that he forgot to say "yet". As soon as Biggie's smile fell, he felt a seed of guilt in his stomach.
"Oh," Biggie said. "Well, when you do finish those, I have this mint chocolate recipe that you should try."
Branch hated how quickly his mouth began to water.
"Thanks, you don't have to," he said, only out of courtesy.
"Shoot, I'll take em'," Guy Diamond said.
"Don't you dare," Biggie scolded. "Those are for Branch. I'll make you something another time."
"And didn't you eat like six muffins for breakfast?" Chenille asked.
"Why you gotta bring up old stuff?" Guy Diamond asked.
The friends laughed while Branch noticed a distinct scent.
"Poppy, is something burning?" he asked, alert.
Poppy's eyes widened in realization.
"Oh crap!" she exclaimed.
Poppy quickly moved to the kitchen in an attempt to save her cookies.
"Did you even set a timer?" Branch asked, frustrated.
"Yes!" she shouted. "I forgot to start it, though."
Nothing in the world could've stopped his palm from reaching his face, expressing his utter disbelief.
He almost got up to help, but decided against it when her friends moved to either open up the windows or help her figure out if the food was still good. That left Branch and DJ Suki as the only ones on the couch.
"Hey Branch?" DJ asked.
"Uh, yeah?" Branch responded.
DJ Suki reached into her beetle themed bag and pulled out a light blue CD player.
"Here," she said. "Late party gift."
Branch looked at the CD player which read: "Ten Chill Tunes for Branch". He turned it around and saw some of the song titles. "Wake Up, Everybody", "Lean On Me", "Diamonds", "Read All About It, Pt. III", "Titanium", "Telephone Line", "Three Little Birds", "Time After Time", "You've Got A Friend In Me", and "Invisible". It was an interesting mix, but he didn't recognize all of them. He looked up at DJ Suki.
"Hopefully, none of those will make you cry," DJ said. "Actually 'Invisible' might make you cry, but in a good way."
He didn't think that trolls believed in crying in a good way.
"Why'd you do this for me?" Branch asked.
She looked away, almost embarrassed.
"I felt bad about the party," she admitted. "That song gave you some bad vibes."
Branch really hadn't expected that.
"That's not what good DJs do," she said.
"It's not like you knew," Branch said.
"Nonetheless, I thought you could use some go-to chill tunes," she said. "I hope I did okay."
He felt genuine appreciation for both the gift and its sentiment.
"Thanks, Suki," Branch said. "DJ. Sorry."
That brought a smile to her face.
"No problem, dude," she said. "And either name is cool."
Branch nodded as the rest of the Snack Pack returned to the main room along with a guilty looking Poppy.
"So, who's up for ice cream, instead?" Poppy asked.
Everyone mercifully agreed while Branch rolled his eyes.
"Branch, can you help me get the tub from the freezer?" Poppy asked.
Before he could ask "why", Poppy continued.
"It's really big," she said. "And you're, you know, strong."
Okay, Poppy was starting to annoy him with the intentional flattering.
"Fine," he relented, getting up.
Walking into the kitchen, he hadn't even realized that Satin and Chenille were staring intently at him as they had been earlier. Shortly after, Branch and Poppy returned with chocolate ice cream and multiple bowls with spoons. While the Snack Pack helped themselves, Poppy and the twins looked at each other. Poppy's eyes gestured to Branch and, as if reading minds, exchanged an excitable silence. The girls all noticed a change in Branch's demeanor already. As much as Satin and Poppy wanted to comment on it, some facet of their developing emotional maturity told them not to. For now, it was enough that they all knew the truth.
Branch's colors had been brighter, revealing a hint of blue.
AN: Next chapter is going to be a slight time jump. Only by a few weeks, maybe more. Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment!