"Trolls just wanna have fu-un. Yeah trolls just wanna have... fuuuunnn!" little Poppy sang, skipping through troll village.
"Hello, Princess Poppy," a few trolls greeted, as they passed the joyful child.
"Hi!" she greeted back cheerfully, waving at everyone she passed.
"Poppy! Poppy! Poppy!" the snack pack cheered, running over to the young princess. "Hi, guys!" she said happily. She always loved seeing her friends.
"Wanna play a game!?" Smidge asked, bouncing slightly on her little legs.
"Of course!" Poppy replied. "How about... hid n' seek!?"
"Yeah!" everyone agreed cheerfully.
"Not it!" everyone but Biggie shouted, placing their fingers on their noses.
"Aw, man..." Biggie pouted. "I'm always it."
"It's ok, Biggie," Poppy said with a sweet smile, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be it."
Biggie smiled.
"Thanks, Poppy," he thanked with a smile, quickly running off to hide.
"Ok. Everyone hide!" Poppy announced. "I'll count to ten."
"Do any of us know how to count that high?" Guy asked. Everyone shrugged, and then laughed, taking of in different directions to hide, while Poppy covered her eyes, beginning to count.
"1... 2... 9... 6... 4... 8... 3... 5... 7... 10! Ready or not! Here I come!" she laughed, as she ran off to find her friends.
"Hmmm..." she mumbled, looking in bushes, and behind trees. No sign of them yet, but Poppy wasn't going to give up. "I'm gonna find yo..." She paused, hearing a rustling sound behind one of the bushes.
She smiled, getting down to her hands and knees, as she crawled forwards, trying to be sneaky.
The rustling continued, as Poppy crawled closer and closer, laughing quietly.
"He... he.. he..." Poppy chuckled.
Finally, she reached the bush, pausing in front of it for a moment, listening as the rustling sound continued.
"Ha! Ha!" she shouted, jumping up, out of the bush. "Found you!"
"AHHHHH!" little grey Branch screamed, startled by Poppy's sudden entrance. He stumbled back, falling over in fear, as he looked up at Poppy, his eyes wide.
Poppy blinked at him, confused.
"Oh... sorry. I thought you were someone else," she said, reaching down her hand to help him up.
Branch looked up at her, shaking slightly, as he breathed heavily, still shaken up from the little scare Poppy had given him unintentionally.
Poppy's eyes widened, realizing she had scared the poor little troll.
"Oh... I didn't mean to scare you," she said.
"S... scared? M... me? I'm not... scared," Branch said defensively, standing back up to his feet.
He dusted off his overalls, as Poppy stared at him, raising an eyebrow.
"I've never seen you before..." she finally said. "And I know everyone in the village."
"Well... uh... I try not to be seen..." he said, looking away from her. "Obviously I need to do a better job at that..."
"Why are you grey?" Poppy said suddenly. "All the other trolls are bright and colorful."
"Yeah... well... not me," he replied, picking back up the sticks he had dropped, when Poppy scared him.
"Oh... did I make you drop those, when I scared you?" Poppy asked, noticing the sticks.
"You didn't scare me..." Branch said dryly, continuing to pick up his sticks. "I'm not scared of anything."
He turned, noticing Poppy was gone.
"Uh... Poppy? Where'd you..."
"You know my name?"
"AHHH!" Branch screamed, jumping as he dropped his sticks again.
He turned, seeing Poppy standing behind him smiling.
"Scared ya again," she laughed.
"You didn't scare me!" Branch yelled, frustrated. "You just... startled me..." He looked away, picking up his sticks again.
"So..." Poppy said, stepping closer to him. "How do you know my name?"
"Psh... everyone knows your name. You are the princess," Branch replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"You know... you look kinda familiar," the young princess said, looking at Branch closely.
Branch froze, remembering back to when he still had his colors. His grandma had brought him to King Peppy's pod the day Poppy had hatched. He always thought she and him would be good friends, but after his grandma died... he just wanted to remain alone.
"Nope. I've never met you before in my life," he lied, beginning to walk away with his pile of sticks.
Poppy smiled, quickly running after him.
"Where are you going?" she asked. "The village is that way."
"Well... I'm not going to the village," he answered. "I'm heading to the forest."
"Why?" Poppy asked, following Branch.
"I'm collecting sticks," he informed, bending down to pick up another stick.
He looked at the stick he had just picked up, making sure that it was good, and then put it into his pile.
"Why?" Poppy asked, curiously.
"Because," Branch answered, picking up another stick.
"Because why?" Poppy asked.
"Just... because..."
He tried to walk away again, but Poppy just followed him.
"So... you never answered my question," she said, skipping next to him.
"Sure I did. I said 'because'."
"No," Poppy giggled. "Not that question. The other one."
Branch stopped, looking at her confused.
"Why are you grey?" she asked again. Branch looked away, not really wanting to answer that question. He didn't want anyone knowing about what happened to his grandma.
"I... I have to go..." he said sadly, trying not to cry, as he made his way to escape the princess once more.
Poppy looked sadly at him, as he walked away.
"But... I will see you again... right?" she asked hopefully.
"If I have any say in the matter... no," Branch replied.
He disappeared into the forest, leaving Poppy behind.
"Hey, Poppy! What gives?" Smidge said, the snack pack suddenly walking towards her. "We've been hiding for soooooo long. You're supposed to be seeking us."
"Oh... sorry guys... I... I just got a little distracted."
Her friends noticed the sad look on her face, getting worried. It was very rare that Poppy was sad. She was the most positive troll who ever lived. If she was sad... something really bad must of happened.
"What's wrong?" Biggie asked, concerned for his friend.
"I... I just met a new troll," she said. "But he was grey."
"A grey troll?" Guy asked, confused. "You mean silver, like me?"
Poppy shook her head, looking at Guy.
"No. He wasn't a glitter troll," she said. "And he was grey. Like... grey, grey."
"I've never heard of a grey troll," Dj said, petting her wooferbug, who she sat on top of.
"Neither have I. Maybe my dad will know." She smiled at the idea of asking her dad, sure he would give her the answers she was searching for.
"I'll see you guys later, ok?" Poppy said, as she ran off towards her pod.