TIED UP || Broppy / Trolls Story

~ Chapter 6 ~

He growled one last time, they were gone, he had chased them away without hurting anyone.

Worried, Branch turned to Poppy, who was lying on the floor... Did she really throwing herself in front of him for protect him? She had just saved him, one more time.

With a little whimper, he tried to wake her up, pushing his forehead against her arm. But she didn't move, the blow had knocked her out violently; but she was breathing, so Branch assumed she was asleep ... even though the queen would wake up with a pretty bad headache.

So he pulled her cloak over the egg, setting his plush next to it and slipping under Poppy's arm, keeping her warm for the night and lovingly licking her face to assure her that he would stay with her.

***

But the morning she woke up, the hot sun seemed to have dried out her body.

It was a hot day, very hot, and her dry throat made it clear that she needed water urgently.

She opened her pink eyes weakly, immediately an awful pain ran through her head, making her grunt in pain, attracting Branch's attention who was perched on top of a tree, trying to pull the foliage above her for help her.

- Poppy ! He said and jumped down from his perch.

She felt the puppy troll lick her face, which honestly encouraged her to open her eyes again. Growling, the queen tried to stand up, but tripped, Branch caught her, preventing her from falling on the ground. She thanked him with a weak caress of his dark hair.

Branch pulled her under the shadow of the tree, forcing her to sit down, then ran off. Worried, the pink troll weakly whispered his name but he was gone.

When she opened her eyes later, Branch had come back and had a ball of soaked foam in his mouth and was letting water fall on her friend's face. Poppy felt a little strange but tilted her head in an attempt to drink, placing her hands on Branch's chest so as not to fall on him.

It refreshed her, but she still needed more water urgently.

- Where did you find it? She asked, pointed the foam ball at him.

Branch cocked his head to the side, intrigued. Poppy took the moss ball and pointed her mouth;

- Water, she asked, water? Can you find some water?

"Water? Find?" Branch easily understood her two words, and barked happily to let her know he understood. Quickly, he sniffed the ground again, looking for a smell of dampness on this hot day... he spoted a trail in seconds and turned to Poppy, motioning for her to follow him.

The little ball of water Branch had brought her was enough for her to get up, weakly pick up her things, and follow him. Seeing the raccoon plush against the intact egg, Poppy felt her heart melt when she saw that he had decided to put his precious plush against the little one to protect it. She leaned over to take the egg in her arms, Branch approached timidly ...

- N-no, don't touch ! She warns him, pulling the baby away from the wild troll.

Ears slightly drooping, Branch walked away by respect while the queen hid the egg in her bag, rolled up in blankets to absorb any kind of shock. Seeing Branch nibbling sadly on the paw of his stuffed animal, she tried to change the subject, feeling bad for yelling at him;

- Hey, does your friend have a name? She asked, leaning in to meet his gaze.

Branch looked up at her with his blue, filled with curiosity, innocence eyes which reflected a heart of gold and a pure soul ... slightly confused, he said:

- Branch.

- No, Poppy laughed, his name, she pointed at his chew toy.

Branch looked down at his raccoon, then looked up at her again:

- Bandit! He smiled, his pupils dilating as he presented his toy.

Poppy smiled and awkwardly leaned over to Branch to snuggle up to him and hug him, wrapping her arms around his chest. The gray troll froze, never having received gestures of affection like these in a long time:

- What is? He asked

Poppy felt her cheeks turn red, then explained:

- Hug, you give them to people you care about, like friends, family or even your loved one ...

- Hug, Branch and Poppy hug, Branch like it, he replied, resting his chin against her shoulder.

It was nice. Feeling her arms wrapped around him like that made him feel safe, like nothing could reach them. She let go after a few more seconds and Branch barked to tell her he would guide her to the water he had found.

They walked for a long time, the warm ground almost scorching their feet (and hands in Branch's case) and the rare breezes of wind were the only comfort they had. In front of the Queen of Pop, the gray troll had his face pressed to the ground, following the trail ... At one point, he raised his head; his nose was covered with dust. He opened his mouth wide and sneezed ten times in a row. With the last sneeze, he accidentally put his injured leg on the floor. The poor puppy troll squealed in pain and stopped to lick his wounds.

- Aww ! Poppy can't help but laugh, are you okay???

She had noticed that he had getting rid of the bandages she had put on his hurt leg before leaving the destroyed camp, and the scars forming was clearly visible ... how long had she been unconscious? Maybe 2 days? She sure will never know. Branch, to assure her that he was okay, affectionately licked her hand and moved behind her to push her forward with his head. The pink troll gave a slight sound of surprise and blushed slightly because on all fours, it was her butt that he was pushing.

Soon Branch, who was before her again with his nose in the dust, looked up. A shiver ran through his whole body, from his head to his injured leg and he turned back to Poppy, his tongue hanging out of his mouth; in front of them, the calm water of a small lake reflected the rays of the sun.

- You're the best ! Poppy exclaimed and without another word, ran to the shore to drink and rinse her face. Branch followed her, also leaning in to drink.

"He drinks like a puppy ..." Poppy noticed, seeing him lapping the water with his purple tongue, which made her smile even more; how could he be so adorable ??? As if to confirm, something caught his eye and he happily went chasing after a colored butterfly.

Then another thought come in her mind; she was covered in dust and sweat, a bath would not be refused ... Blushing, she took off her dress, keeping her underwear on. Branch was obsessed with his butterfly hunt for now, he hadn't noticed her. She put her dress next to the egg and the stuffed animal, Bandit the raccoon, from her friend and entered the water.

Poppy clenched her teeth as the cold water made contact with her skin, she swam to get used to the temperature and rubbed her skin to get rid of the dust, until ...

SPLASH !  

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WhO JuMpEd In ThE WaTeR?