Trolls and the Search for the Missing Mom (rewrite rewrite)

Chapter 18

     Poppy lead Branch forwards by holding onto his hand, the little blue troll following behind, his head still low and ears drooping in shame...

As the two friends walked forwards, the queen of pop looked around for a safe place to rest for the night...

     So far, the ground had been un-even and covered in small rocks. Definitely not the most comfortable place to sleep...

     The sun was getting lower and lower, darkness quickly taking over the area... They would have to find a suitable place to make camp before the predators began scouting the forest for their nighttime snack...

     'Swoosh!'

     The sound immediately caught Branch's attention, the little blue troll looking up in surprise, his eyes wide as the young boy looked around himself, Poppy still leading him forwards, the young queen seeming to be completely unaware of the possible threat...

     "Poppy?" Branch whispered softly, still looking around the pitch black darkness surrounding him...

     The queen of pop turned at the sound of her name, looking to her boyfriend in slight confusion.

     "Did you hear that?" the survivalist asked, his voice a soft whisper to avoid any predators hearing him...

     "Hear what?" Poppy asked, finally stopping to look around.

     The light was slowly fading from the sky, but the young queen could still see her surroundings rather clearly, not spotting anything dangerous in their general area.

     "I... I don't know..." Branch started, still looking around though he could see absolutely nothing but pitch black darkness. "I heard a rustle..."

     "It was probably just a squirloff," Poppy assured. "The little critters are everywhere..."

But Branch wasn't to open to that opinion... he was a paranoid survivalist... every noise in his mind led to danger... even the smallest squeak of a field mousling...

The little blue troll squinted his eyes to try and see, the darkness surrounding him only seeming to become thicker...

"Come on, Branch..." Poppy urged, once again beginning to lead her boyfriend forwards. "We need to find a place to rest... we're losing daylight."

"Ok..." Branch finally agreed with a soft sigh, turning back to the pink blur that was his beloved girlfriend. "You're right..."

The former village grump couldn't help but smile as Poppy led him forwards, the young boy so proud of her for actually listening to his safety meetings... he trusted her completely, and knew she would find the perfect, most safe place to sleep...

But at the same time... he still felt bad that he couldn't help, the blue pop troll feeling like he was a hindrance to the young queen's survival as he lowered his head in shame once more with a soft sigh of overwhelming despair...

—————

In the bushes, a small figure slowly emerged, watching as the two trolls walked away...

The masked creature gripped tightly at their staff before quickly taking off after the young couple...