Crystal Facets

Branch

 "I DON'T HAVE A FAMILY TO MISS ME!!"

The sudden shout nearly scared Branch right out of his vest, and he looked over to see Trollex glaring Poppy down, while Poppy was on the floor, staring up at Trollex in fear as Barb tried to help her up. He was on his feet faster than he could think, and ran towards the bowl, putting himself between Poppy and Trollex. "What's going on here?"

Barb looked up at him, worry evident in her eyes. "It's Trollex and Poppy. We... We were talking about family, and it got Trollex upset, he came to his bowl for some alone time, I think, but Poppy wouldn't stop pressing him..."

Poppy snuffled, rubbing at her eyes. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't... I forgot, and I..." She bit her lip, clearly trying to hold back tears. He hated seeing her cry, but she wasn't the one who needed his help right now. He turned to look at Trollex, who was now cowering in a ball in the corner of the bowl. He'd have to get wet for this...

He took off his vest, knowing that the material was difficult to dry properly, and leapt to the top of the bowl, a moment later and he dove in with a splash that nearly caught Poppy and Barb. The bowl wasn't very deep, but he could stand in it without his hair breaking the surface.

And so he walked along the bottom of the bowl, sitting cross legged behind Trollex. Delta had told him that the king of Techno had an ability that let other trolls breath under water... hopefully he wasn't too out of it to do it for him, otherwise he wouldn't be able to help.

Trollex knew he was there, and he knew that. Trollex had peeked from behind his fins and looked at him, before curling up more. "Go away, Branch..."

There was no way he was doing that. He had something he needed to say to Trollex, and he knew the other would be more comfortable in the water. Though it was getting harder to hold his breath... even so, he did his best to maintain his calm.

Trollex uncurled a little more, half glaring at Branch. "Get out of the water, Branch, land trolls can't breathe like I can..."

But still he stayed, though his lungs and throat were starting to hurt... He needed to breathe soon, but...

He jolted when Trollex suddenly unwound himself, his hands forming a heart. Unfortunately Branch took in a gulp of water when he was startled, he needed air! He couldn't figure out his limbs right away in his panic, and absently felt something pop against his chest.

He had to breathe! He took an instinctive breath, and coughed the water he'd already swallowed out. He was still under water, he could tell, but he was breathing fine... well, aside from his coughing fit. He looked at Trollex, clutching at his chest as he regained himself. "T-Thanks..."

"Are you insane?! What if I hadn't done the Heart Bubble!? Or what if I couldn't do it? What if it didn't work, huh? W-what if I...what if..." He hiccupped softly. "What if you'd gotten hurt because of me...?"

Branch sat cross legged at the bottom of the bowl again, now able to relax. "Trollex, I've been meaning to talk to you about that... We know you lost your family, but Trollzart and Cooper said it was an accident... Do you not have any other relatives?"

Trollex hugged himself, resting at the bottom of the bowl across from Branch. "I... It wasn't an accident, not really... it could have been stopped... My parents brought me out for a swim outside the reef, and... I spotted a light. I followed it, and it turned out to be a shark... If I hadn't been so... so stupid, then maybe... they'd still be alive today..."

Branch's eyes widened at the tale, staring ahead at Trollex. He'd gone through something similar himself, but he hadn't realized that any of the other trolls had dealt with anything similar... He looked down at his gray hands, tinted slightly blue from Trollex's glow. He couldn't even remember his own colors...