Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 8

     Poppy walked through the forest, stomping towards Branch's bunker with a determined look on her face...

She was going to find him, and she was going to bring him to his party...

"AHHHHH!" a terrified scream suddenly rang out loudly through the air, causing the young princess to freeze in place, her head whipping around frantically to try and locate it's source. "No! Get off! AHHHHH!"

     She knew that scream... she would recognize that voice anywhere...

     "Branch!" she screamed out in shock, quickly turning to run towards where the shout had come from... Something was wrong... he was in trouble! "I'm coming, Branch!"

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     "No! Nooo!" Branch cried out, rolling around on the ground, trying with all his might to force the mystery creature off of himself. "Get off! Get off of me!"

     "Branch! Branch!?" he suddenly heard in a horrified shout. "Where are you!?"

     His ears perked up at the sound of the all too familiar voice...

     "Poppy!" he cried out. "Stay back! There's a monster!"

     But of course... the young princess didn't listen to the survivalist's warning... continuing forwards until she pushed her way through the bushes, pausing with a silent gasp when she was finally able to see her best friend...

     She couldn't help but smile, a small snicker escaping her throat at what she saw...

     "What are you laughing at!?" Branch shrieked, still fighting for his life, the creature clinging to his vest with it's sharp razor-like claws. "Run! Save yourself!"

     "Branch..." Poppy giggled, covering her mouth to try and muffle the sound. "It's just a little squirloff..."

     "Hugh?" Branch questioned, stopping his struggle to finally look at his attacker...

     To his surprise, a squirloff was sitting on his chest, staring at the gray troll with big adorable eyes...

     "What!?" he shouted out, trying to sound angry though he was actually utterly embarrassed. With a soft growl, he finally sat up as he pulled the innocent creature off of his vest. "Get out of here, you little rat!"

     "Chickasnee!" the squirloff said in displeasure, angered by Branch's harsh tone before it finally scurried off into the forest.

"Get home safe!" Poppy called after it with a smile, Branch glaring over at her as he crossed his arms in annoyance.

Finally, she turned back to her best friend who was completely unamused by the situation...

"It's not funny..." he grumbled, looking away from the young princess when he saw the smile still plastered on her face.

"I mean... it's a little funny..." she snickered. "You were afraid of a squirloff..."

"Psh..." he scoffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "I wasn't afraid... I'm not scared of anything..."

Poppy rolled her eyes at that statement walking over to help the gray troll back up to his feet.

"It's ok to be scared, Branch," she told him comfortingly. "Everyone's scared of something."

"Yeah... whatever..." he grumbled, accepting her help.

He stood, immediately crossing his arms as he turned away from her, making sure the troll he loved so much didn't see that he was still a bit frightened...

"What we're you doing way out here in the first place?" Poppy finally asked, Branch's ears drooping a bit at the question.

"I... I was..." he started, lowering his voice in hopes she wouldn't hear him... "I was heading to the party..."

Poppy's face lit up at the statement, an excited squeal escaping his throat...

"Yay! I knew you'd come!" she exclaimed, hugging Branch tight. "This is the best day ever!"

Branch looked back at her, letting a small smile come to his face... he loved that adorable squeal of hers...

He quickly shook the thought out of his head, reminding himself he couldn't think that way...

"Yeah... don't get too excited..." he muttered, suddenly snapping back into his grumpy facade so she wouldn't see him smiling... "I was just coming to tell you to turn the music down... it's giving me a headache..."

"Oh..." Poppy started, pulling slowly away from the hug.

"But..." Branch started, not liking the sight of her sudden frown, his heart aching to see her so sad. "Since I'm already here..." He crossed his arms again, turning away once more. "I guess... I can stay... for... for a little bit..."

A silent gasp of excitement, and Poppy's face lit right back up.

"Yes!" she shouted out, quickly grabbing hold of Branch's wrist and dragging him off towards the party before he could change his mind. "Let's go!"