𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓭 | 𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓼 |𝓑𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓱 𝔁 𝓯𝓮𝓶 𝓣𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓵 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 {𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴}

𝓣𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮. 𝓢𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓾𝓽.

𝓙𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓹𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥:
Branch arrives outside of my hut, he pushes my door wide agape and silently pushes it back shut with the door clicking closed.
Each night, as often the opportunity lies open, Branch would make his way from the bunker to my hut, picking me up to join him on a nightly stroll. It has kind of become a ritual, to step out and breathe in the late noon air - and to steal an hour of solitude together.
Turning back from facing his actions at the door, his gaze falls upon my room, before it lands on my figure. Sitting cross-legged by the edge of my bed, a framed picture resting in between my grasp with my eyes remaining their stare upon the Trolls visible on the photo.
"Hey Angel. What are you doing?" Branch asks, his voice making me aware of his presence and his approaching figure. "Just taking a walk down memory lane." I ramble out from between my frowning lips, my mind still holding most of my focus upon the picture. I adjust my grip around the golden frame, turning it for his eyes to see. The framed picture in question shows Poppy and I, but way younger. Our tiny bodies are being held by Peppy, our dad.
Branch fully approaches my bedside, eyes fixed on the picture I am holding while his body slowly lowers to sit against the mattress.
Without further questioning towards the picture, his eyes raises to catch mine. "June.. Are we okay, since the disagreement back in the cave?"
His piercing eyes succeeds to catch my attention, my hands adjusting the frame to face my way again. "Of course, I'm not holding a grudge. Couples can disagree." "I don't like when we disagree." He lets out a heavy breath through his nostrils, before his body leans close to mine, lips planting a short peck onto my skin. "Speaking of. Have you spoken to Poppy, since her and your dad's disagreement?" He leans back.
"No, haven't stumbled upon her since this afternoon. But, don't have a high expectation, she isn't willing to let things go that easy." With a small laugh escaping at the end of my sentence, I move one of my hand to cover Poppy on the picture. The beaming smile now upon my features, is making his own lips rise. Branch's eyes wanders away from me, now rolling around my room. His eye caught onto one of my other frames, hammered into the wall. "He's a handsome one." he comments, his finger pointing out which one he is referring to. "Shut it." Another giggle manages to escape, my wrist falling loose as I slap the back of my hand against his shoulder. Without the slap being too forced, rather light, he still raises his opposite arm and rubs the 'sore' spot.
Settling the picture - still in my hold - back down to stand on my bedside, I bounce up from my seated posture, turning around to face him.
"Shall we?" He follows suit, bouncing back up to stand beside me, before he reaches out, stealing my hand. "We shall."
———
Strolling through the Village hand in hand, we savour the calm, slightly chill breeze. And the silence that has fallen upon it, complete opposite from the usual bustle. Branch's pace comes to a sudden stop, his arm attached to his hand - which is still holding mine - pulling in me. Completely dumbfounded, I turn back to him, who is scanning our surroundings, ears flicking about and his hearing aware. He is clearly listening in on something I have no clue what is. "What is it-" He is quick to shush me with a hiss, his finger pressing against the rosy skin upon my lips within a second. "There is someone." Switching my main focus from him to our surroundings, I try to catch on to whatever he is hearing, and I eventually do. The voice he claims to be someone, is far too familiar to question. "Oh, look how cute you are! Barb is gonna love your new look!" Poppy. What has she gotten into this time. Branch shares a glare with me, worry flowing through my eyes. We set into a sprint, wanting to reach my drastic sister, before she even could lift a finger out of line.
Once her voice is within a reach, we decide not to reveal our presence yet, reaching a large rock and presses our backs against it. Peeking above the stone, our gazes catches on to her moving figure, a cape flowing down her spine. "Tell her I look forward to helping her plan the world's biggest party!" She is rambling to Biggie's attacker in her embrace. The hairy bat is now wearing a pink bow tied around its hairs, and glitter smeared all over. She is gorgeous, I must say. Poppy's bends down, placing a rolled up piece of parchment in between the creature's teeth, similar to the one it has arrived with. Hers just holding a bit more spark and flair to it.
She lets go of the creature, its wings only just catching on to the breeze, when Branch jumps up from our shared hiding spot. "Poppy!" His voice is an octave lower, but his breath is spoken with force, a certain harshness to it. Poppy wasn't expecting his sudden appearance, her whole body bouncing a metre up mid air, turning midways. She manage to muffle the surprise scream with her palm pressing against her mouth. "What are you doing?" Branch then asks, my figure joining his upon the large stone. He jumps down beside Poppy, me following suit. I make my way down the surface with careful feet, Branch seemingly putting notice into the extra care I'm taking, as he reaches a hand up to me, steadying me the rest of the way down.
"Oh, nothing..." Poppy grasps into her cape, lengthening the fabric out on either side of her, trying to hide the Bat away from our visions. Little did she know, we've already discovered her little scheme. With aggressive flapping, the Bat makes its way up, now visible above her cape. Her notice quickly catches on, hands letting go of her clothing and grasps the Creature before it could escape.
"Ooh, Poppy's busted!" A voice hums, not belonging to either of us. Behind Poppy, a hot-air balloon strapped to the ground. With both pointers hovering above her pursed lips, Poppy shushes the talking balloon. "Sneaking out to meet Barb? Headed into enemy territory?" Branch ignore the remark from the balloon, gaze still fixed on Poppy. "She's not the enemy! She's a Queen, the same as me." The bat manage to escape her locked arms. Attempting to regain the lost balance, it heads in Branch's direction, stumbling into him. The loose glitter upon its small body is now scattered across Branch's face. He wipes the glimmering grains with his palms, removing the bigger percentage before he continues with the accusation directed against Poppy. "Your dad just told us that Queen Barb is bad news." "Well, our dad doesn't know everything." Poppy argues back at him, spinning around on her heel to walk towards the balloon, picking up a basket filled with supplies, on her way. "He knows more about this? You didn't even know there was a String until this morning." "He may be fine in a world where everybody lives in isolation, but I'm not." My gaze is shifting between the two as they have suddenly broken out into another argument, taking turns to speak. "But we don't know anything about 'the other Trolls'!" Branch's comment woke something inside of me, this salty taste filling my mouth. My cold palm moves to the opposite arm, rubbing the chilly feeling into the skin, my head now downcast. I am torn. Where do I truly belong, will I ever get a reasonable answer to that? "We know they're Trolls!" Poppy's voice breaks through, she steps upon the ramp attached to the basket of the balloon, walking inside with the supplies in her fawn, before bending down and places the basket by her feet.
"Branch, take a look around TrollVillage. Everybody's different. Juniper and I, even you and i!" Poppy reasons, turning her full body back in our direction, but gets caught off guard by an unexpected sound coming from the distance. The sound being similar to a sneeze, a faint one. This could mean that someone is listening in. All three of us circles our heads around, finding it difficult in the dark to point someone out, the only ressource being the illuminating moonlight. "Did you two hear something?"
"Stop trying to change the subject!"
"Look. Being a Queen means having a lot of power, and it's my job to use it for good!" Stepping upon a button with her foot, the surface of it sinking into the flooring, the gate closes. "I can't stay home when I know there's a world of different Trolls out there, just like us!" She leans her upper body out from the basket, a pair of scissors between her fingers as she reaches for the thick rope, holding the balloon close to the ground. The blades of her tool now surrounding the rope, but before she could close the remaining gap. "Poppy wait!" Her actions freeze, gaze now upon me who was the one to intervene. Branch is indeed also glaring in my direction.
"I'm coming with you."
"What?!" Meeting Branch's eyes as he yells out in astonishment, lips falling ajar. "If there are other Trolls like us out there, I want to acknowledge them myself." His expression doesn't change, not an inch. I can't tell if he is understanding, if he is able to support my decision. I'm only expecting him to at least let me go, without another argument with the main focus being my safety. "Great!" Poppy's beam breaks the eye contact with my boyfriend. She leans further out from the basket, reaching her arm out to me, offering her help. Without the gain of Branch's consent, I leap forward, and with the offered help from Poppy, I manage to crawl inside, now standing beside her.
With a rumbling sigh. "Ugh. This is a terrible idea that will most likely blow up in your faces." Not wasting any opportunities on making Poppy and I reconsider the drastic decision, Branch grows a devilish smirk upon his lips. "Okay, bye." With a shrug of Poppy's shoulders, she leans back down, cutting the rope this time. The balloon now rising, slowly nearing the star filled sky. "What?" He clearly wasn't expecting us to actually do it. "W-Whatever... See if I care." He shouts for us to catch, with his chin tilted up. Foolish.
Resting our upper arms against the braided material, Poppy and I lowers our necks, chins resting against the skin of our arms. Peering over the edge, gazes down on Branch's slightly smaller figure. His eyes couldn't decide where to look, travelling from our retreating forms to the grass, his arms now wrapped tightly across his chest. Gifting us a final glare, catching the satisfaction painted upon our faces, his shoulders slump within a sigh. Lengthening his mane, his hair loops around a branch like a lasso, swinging himself upon it, then takes off onto one of the wings, attached to our basket. Regaining his hair, he then jumps inside and finally lands in between Poppy and I. "Then I guess, I'm coming with you. But only to make sure your safeties are reassured." He makes sure to point out the last part, his finger pointing directly at Poppy, before it shifts to point at me. Expression stern and dead serious.
"Oh! I know you were lying about not caring, but I'm especially thankful that you did right now. I really didn't want us to go by ourselves." I breathe out, my back rounding as I am slumping forward, my palm placed upon my beating heart. I may have experienced something similar to this adventure, but that doesn't mean my anxiety has the privilege of a long leash. "Roadtrip!" Our balloon squeals from above, before it lets go, rising with the wind further up into the sky.

The three Trolls doesn't waste any thoughts on the mystical sneeze, which has been completely forgotten between the shared conversations. A Troll has been eavesdropping all along. Cooper.
———
𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓟𝓞𝓥:
I've been listening in on the whole thing, and got to discover their takeoff. Standing back to observe, watching my friends disappear behind the thick clouds, my curiosity has only grown double size from before. I'm aware of the fact that the three of them will eventually stumble upon different Trolls. It can go from different Music taste to different appearance. And I? I will be left behind, knowing nothing. I have to see it for myself. Because come on, look at me. I'm not similar to the others living in the Village. As the Ballon disappears out of my sight, I quickly turn, changing my direction.
I manage to find the secret cave King Peppy has kept hidden away, no one having knowledge to its existence the day prior.
With my body moving with sways, I stroll through the entrance, humming along to a catchy tune replaying in my head. My eyes are fixed on the target, that old piece of parchment, which is only useful as a drawn compass. "they are all different." I comment out loud, merely speaking to myself. "And the Purple one looks a little bit like me!" We both have 4 legs, a long neck and-  "We even have the same hat!" This time, I yell it out, my voice echoing through the hollow cave, as a green hat - a little similar to a leaf - lands upon the paper, giving my ancestor a hat.
I won't be wasting anymore time to just stand around like this. With one leg crossing the other, two at once, I leg it back to the hole where I entered and keeps the pace until I reach my doorstep. Kicking my door open and grasping my usual travelling sack, I just shove everything slightly useful, down in it. My Harmonica is a must.
Grasping my travelling hat from its hook, I place the one who was already upon my head, on the hook beside. Retreating to my door, I grasp my cape before existing. Stepping out with care for no one to see, as I take off.
Stepping upon a cliff, I struggle to hike my way to the top. But I make it, eventually reaching the top, only to stop myself from walking further.
Turning back, I catch the view of TrollVillage from above. Everything and everyone that I love, I am about to leave behind, for my own benefit. "Goodbye. I hope I see you again, friends." The usually colourful Village has turned blunt, the darkness swallowing all the lights from within the houses. "But even though it's scary, I have to go out there and see if there's other Trolls like me." I turn back around to face my headed direction, but as I do, I forgot to realise I am already standing by the very edge of the hill. My foot lifting to take another step forward, I am luckily quick enough to retreat it before I did. I could easily fall to my death, or worse, fall in a ditch. "Oh, man. This is gonna be hard..."