Crystal Facets

Trollzart

At first, the trolls had all agreed that they would take turns keeping watch over the ailing Trollex, as well as waiting for Branch to return. That plan had quickly dissolved as the young trolls began to argue amongst themselves as to who could stay up the longest.

Trollzart chuckled softly as he rested his wings, watching the antics from his bed, which was a sock the others had found and deemed perfect for his small stature. He didn't mind really, if he rolled up the toes and folded the ankle over it made a good, soft mattress and blanket, complete with pillow!

He of course found himself homesick. By now he would have been at home, reading one of his favourite books over a cup of warm tea. And now he was here, the eldest as usual amongst a gaggle of young trolls. He watched as Barb poked at Poppy's side, while the young princess of Pop tried not to giggle from the tickling.

Poppy swatted at Barb's hand playfully, before tackling the other and beginning a full blown tickle fight. Cooper was quick to join in as well, with Delta and Prince D laughing at the others' antics. It warmed his soul to see the young trolls enjoying themselves, even in a situation as terrifying as the one they were in now.

He perked up when he heard a strange sound, and flitted up into the air. "Did everyone hear that?" The group went silent, listening as best they could to whatever noises were coming from the house around them. "I think... Steven has returned!"

Poppy leapt to her feet, staring up at the bottom of the bed. "Are they back? I'm going to check!" She tried to run for the hole, but was stopped by a gentle hand from Delta.

"Now hold it right there lil miss. Let's wait for everythin' to quiet down..." There was some audible rustling above, signalling Steven climbing into bed. A few moments later, Steven's snoring could be heard.

Delta gave a small nod to Poppy, releasing her hold on the other. Poppy ran towards the entrance, but stopped halfway as an extremely ragged and tired looking Branch half-stumbles through the hole. "Branch...!" She closed the remaining distance, pulling him into a tight hug.

She seemed shocked when Branch returned the hug, clinging to her tightly with shaking hands. "Poppy... it's good to be back..."

A few moments later, he seemed to realize what was happening. He pried himself from her grasp and crossed his arms, looking away in an attempt to hide his glowing blush. Trollzart chuckled softly, trying to relieve some of the attention from Branch's small slip in character. "Branch, where have you been? Poppy said you had fallen in Steven's backpack, but suddenly Steven and the three other women vanished!"

Branch perked up slightly, looking up towards Trollzart. "Oh, yeah. Well, it was a pretty wild ride..." He began to relay the tale of his adventure at the lunar sea spire, yawning more and more frequently as he told the story.

As he concluded, he barely managed to stifle another yawn behind his hand. "N' it took... all night to get here. I couldn't sleep cause... I didn't..." He yawned again. "Didn't wanna get caught...mmm..." He swayed slightly. "I need to sleep..."

He began to stagger towards the sleeping area, but paused when he saw Trollex. "Trollex? He doing any better...?"

Delta shook her head, keeping close to the staggering troll. "Not yet. His fever came down a mite after we gave him a cold towel, but it's goin back up again. We thought you might know how ta 'elp 'im?"

He nodded, mumbling something softly. Trollzart flitted forward a bit. "Pardon, but what did you say?"

With a quiet grumble, he reiterated what he said. "Water... need to get him water to rest in... he is aquatic, after all..."