Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Intro

     In a small village far far away... a little blue troll named Branch ran around happily, his best friend Creek chasing after him, the two children laughing and having fun together, neither one of them having a care in the world...

     "I'm gonna get you, Branch!" Creek shouted out with a laugh, chasing down the little blue troll ahead of him...

"Oh no you're not!" Branch shouted back as he ran as fast as his little legs would take him, the young boy laughing hysterically, not paying attention to where he was going... "You can't get me! You can't get m... whoa!"

With a quick shout of surprise, Branch suddenly tripped over a small root sticking out of the ground, the young child beginning to tumble perilously down a steep hill that sat previously unnoticed in front of him...

"AHHHHH!"

     Creek's eyes widened in horror with a quick gasp of alarm as he watched the situation play out, Branch's tumbling body abruptly coming to a halt, the young troll falling unconscious immediately as his head banged brutally against a dense boulder...

     "Branch!" Creek shouted out, his voice filled with worry as he quickly ran down the hill, dropping down to his knees next to his best friend, beginning to shake him back and forth. "Branch!? Branch!? Are you ok, mate? Can you hear me?"

But the little blue troll didn't respond... instead he just lay there on the ground, not moving an inch, the rock having made a massive gash in the side of his head that blood no seeped out of...

"No... no, no, no, no..." Creek muttered softly, looking around in a panic. "Help! Someone help!" he finally wailed out at the top of his lungs, not knowing what else to do. "My friend is hurt! He needs help!"

There was no reply... Unfortunately... no one was around to hear the child's cries...

"Oh no..." he muttered softly to himself, looking around for any signs of other trolls coming to the rescue...

Nothing... they were completely alone... why had they traveled so far from home!?

Slowly, the young boy looked back down at the lifeless child before him, rising up to his feet as he began backing away slowly in fear, his eyes wide as he saw the puddle of blood forming under his friend's limp body...

Would he be blamed for this? He didn't want to get into trouble...

No... that didn't matter... what mattered is that his friend was hurt... he needed to help him... fast...

"Um... uh..." he muttered softly to himself, looking around for a solution, an idea finally popping into his head. "Don't... don't worry, Branch. Just... just hang in there, ok?" he said, his voice shaking in panic as he turned his gaze back to the blue troll who still lay motionless on the ground. "I'm going to get your grandma... she'll... she'll  know what to do..."

Of course... Branch didn't answer... he hadn't even heard his friend speaking to him... the little blue troll was no longer there... not anymore...

Panting heavily in fear, Creek finally took off in the direction of Rosiepuff's Pod, leaving his friend behind as Branch's skin unknowingly began fading into a dull grey...

—————

"Well, you done done me, and you bet I felt it. I tried to be chill, but you're so hot that I melted. I fell right through the cracks. And now I'm trying to get back," Rosiepuff sang softly as the old troll baked some of her famous Fluffleberrie cake.

The super secret recipe was her grandson's favorite, and it was a special occasion. Branch would be turning four years old in just a few hours, and she was excited to celebrate this miraculous moment with him. Her only remaining family member...