"Poppy!?" Branch called out, searching all over for his one and only love. "Poppy, where are you!? Poppy!?"
Suddenly, he heard a slight whimper.
His ear twitched, perking up a bit to listen.
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"Poppy?" he whispered, looking around.
He listened for the noise, suddenly hearing it again.
Crying... he heard crying.
"Poppy!" he shouted, quickly running off in the direction the sound was coming from.
He pushed through some bushes, finally spotting Poppy, leaned up against a tree, as she hugged her legs, her face buried into her knees, as she sobbed quietly.
Her dress was torn, and dirty, as if she had been attacked.
"P... Poppy?" Branch said, softly, slowly approaching, not wanting to startle her.
She looked up at him, her eyes red with tears.
"Poppy, what happened? Are you hurt?" Branch asked, sitting down beside her, hugging her, gently.
"N... no... I'm not hurt," she sniffled, looking away from him. "What happened? I was so worried," Branch said, softly, still trying to comfort her.
"I'm sorry, Branch..." she said, quietly. "I'm sorry I missed our date..."
Branch shook his head, gently turning her head to look at him.
"That doesn't matter," he said. "What matters is you're ok."
"But... but I don't think I am ok," she said, softly, looking away again.
Branch stiffened a little. Not ok? She said she wasn't hurt. Was she lying to make him not worry?
"I'll find a doctor," Branch said, worried about Poppy's safety, as he started to get up.
"No, Branch," Poppy said, stopping him from moving. "I'm not hurt. Really." "Than... what's wrong?" he asked, putting his arm around her again.
"Last night..." she explained. "I was on my way to Che Dante to meet you for our date... but I accidentally tripped and fell. I was fine, but my dress..." She paused, taking a deep breath, as she looked up at him.
"My dress was ripped," she continued. "I know it sounds silly... but... it was my mom's dress, so I just couldn't bare the thought that I had ruined it."
Branch nodded, listening to Poppy's story, not interrupting once.
"So I went back home... I knew I had to get to the restaurant, but I thought I'd have enough time to fix the dress. I went home to look for my sewing supplies, but I was out of thread. I would've gone to Satin and Chenille, but they where hanging out with Ripley Whisp, so they weren't home."
She sighed again, before continuing her story, Branch listening closely to every word.
"I went to my dad's pod, hoping he would have some thread I could use, but he wasn't home either. I figured he wouldn't mind if I just let myself in, and have a look around. I went in, but instead of finding thread... I found a box of my mother's stuff. I was curious, so I decided to look inside, but... what I found..."
She sighed again, looking away, sadly.
"What?" Branch asked, softly after a moment of silence. "What did you find?"
"I... I found a letter... from my mom..."
She pulled a piece of paper out of her hair, handing it to Branch, who took it, reading it out loud.
"I'm sorry to tell you this in a note, but I had to leave. I need to find a way to save you, and our beautiful daughter. I promise I'll be back once I find a way to save you all from the Bergens. I am so sorry. Love Pansy."
Branch looked up at Poppy, sadly.
"Dad told me she was eaten by a Bergen," she said, softly, still looking away from him. "But with this letter... I'm not sure that's true."
She sighed, looking up at him again.
"Branch..." she said, softly. "I... I think my mother is alive..."
