Curse of the Weretroll (rewrite)

Chapter 43

     Everyday at the exact same time, Poppy went back to the little pond deep in the forest, the young princess excited to see the wolf she had named Squishy...

     "Squishy! I brought some brownies!" she announced most of the days when she arrived, but this time... this time things were a little bit different...

"Hey there, Squishy," the pink troll greeted as she walked up to the lounging wolf on that beautiful afternoon, the large critter instantly looking up at the sound of her voice.

"Arf!" Branch greeted happily as he rose up to his four feet, the Weretroll heading directly over to nuzzle his head against his friend's shoulder.

     "Good to see you too," Poppy chuckled, petting the wolf's head as she hugged him in return. "I brought a surprise for you today..."

     Branch cocked his head slightly at the announcement, looking to the young princess in slight confusion...

     A surprise? What kind of surprise?

     Laughing softly at the adorable look on her friend's face, Poppy reached up into her hair before pulling out a rubber sphere-like object, the young girl holding it out to show off like it was the greatest thing in the world...

     'A ball?' Branch questioned in confusion, raising an eyebrow at the pink troll he called a friend...

     He loved Poppy... but that girl just kept getting weirder and weirder every day...

     "I thought we could play some fetch," the young princess informed with a smile, getting ready to throw the toy for the wolf to chase down, receive, and bring back... "All my friends' Cuddle Pups love this game... so I thought you would too..."

     'Ok...' Branch sighed, looking to Poppy in slight annoyance. 'There is no way I am chasing that...'

     "Fetch!" Poppy yelled, throwing the rubber toy as far as she possibly could, the wolf's eyes lighting up as his hunting instincts took over.

     '... Ball!' he shouted out excitedly, the large creature suddenly taking off in pursuit of his prey...

     Poppy couldn't help but laugh as her friend chased down the bouncing ball, finally pouncing on top of it like it was an escaping animal that he wanted to eat for lunch...

     "Grrr..." the Weretroll growled softly, sinking his sharp fangs into the rubber of his recently captured toy...

     Shaking his head roughly with the ball in his mouth, Branch finally trotted back over to Poppy, dropping the toy at her feet before bowing down before her, the predator inside of him waiting excitedly for his prey to be thrown yet again...

     With a laugh of pure amusement, Poppy picked up the ball before throwing it far away, her wolf friend quickly taking off in pursuit of it...

—————

     It was a fun day...

     The sun about to set, Poppy sat in the grass of the open field, the young princess looking up at the sky to watch the clouds rolling by as Branch lay right beside her, chewing fiercely at the toy his best friend had so generously allowed him to keep, small growls escaping the wolf's throat as he sunk his teeth deep into his prey...

     "Look at that one, Squishy," Poppy laughed, pointing up at a familiar looking cloud. "It's shaped like a wolf. Just like you..."