Outside Poppy's pod, Branch waited rather impatiently for the young queen to emerge from her home as he looked around nervously, his ear twitching at every little sound he heard...
He knew the pink pop troll had to pack for the trip they were about to embark on... but she was taking soooooo long!
Branch had already dodged a bullet, (most likely literally) when he got rid of the note his girlfriend had written for her father... but if Peppy came by and saw the two of them getting ready to leave the village... it was game over...
"Ok! I'm ready!" Poppy shouted, suddenly standing right behind the paranoid survivalist, her arms shooting up into the air in exhilaration.
"AHHH!" Branch screamed out in terror, shocked by the sudden loud voice as he jumped back, quickly spinning around to face the young queen with wide fearful eyes...
Confused, Poppy just stood there staring right at her boyfriend in shock, slightly raising an eyebrow at his odd behavior...
"Are you ok?" she asked in slight concern.
"Uh..." Branch muttered, slowly calming down as he realized it was only his girlfriend who had startled him and not Peppy coming to take his life away... "Yep. I'm good!" he continued with a fake smile and quiet chuckle. "You know me... I'm always a little jumpy..."
Poppy wasn't buying it... she knew Branch like the back of her hair, and there was definitely something bothering him...
"But Branch..." she started, the blue pop troll quickly cutting her off as he began gently leading her forewords...
"What are we standing around for!? We're burnin' daylight," he laughed innocently, hurrying the two of them out of the village and into the thick brush of the surrounding forest... "We better be going. Ha, ha, ha..."
Well... the young queen was still quite concerned about her friend... but he was right. There wasn't much time left before the sun set for the night, and she wanted to make as much progress on their journey as possible. So... she ignored Branch's clear signs of distress, a large smile coming to her face as she set off on this remarkable adventure with the one troll she cared about more than anything else in the world...
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The day went on rather smoothly, Poppy and Branch making great progress through the forest as they held each other's hands, the young queen hyped to finally meet her mother for the first time in forever...
But... their luck had just seemed to run out as the couple suddenly came upon a raging river, the water flowing down it so loud, it was all the two pop trolls could hear...
They looked at the water streaming past them in a roar, Branch instantly knowing there was no way the two of them could possibly swim across... the current was just too strong. It would wash them both away in an instant...
"Hmm..." the little blue pop troll muttered softly, pulling out the map from his hair to look at, determined to find a solution to their newly discovered problem... for Poppy... "There must be a way around this river..."
As Branch looked at the map, plotting out their next course of action, Poppy glanced up, watching as the sun yawned, slowly beginning to lower from it's spot in the sky...
"Branch..." she said in a slightly worried tone, still staring up at the sun as it fell lower and lower, the brightness of the area decreasing dramatically... "The sun will be setting soon.. we need to hurry..."
But Branch didn't answer... he hadn't even seemed to hear her... he was just too focused on his mission... his mission to make the love of his life happy... he was going to find a way past this river... they were going to find Poppy's mom... it wasn't an option... it was a necessity...
Poppy looked at him for a moment, seeing the concentration on his face, before letting out a soft sigh, beginning to look around for a way to get across this hazard...
Maybe if she helped figure out a way forewords... they would find her mother faster!
A large smile uncontrollably coming across her face, the young queen suddenly noticed a path formed from a few rocks going through the water, leading all the way to the other side...
"Look, Branch!" she exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the rocks she had just spotted. "We can cross there."
Branch looked up from the map at the sound of his girlfriend's statement, instantly realizing with great horror what she was proposing....
"I'm not so sure about that, Poppy..." he said, his nervousness being heard in his slightly shaking voice. "It doesn't seem too safe..."
"Don't be ridiculous, Branch," she scoffed with a slight chuckle. "We'll be fine. Look... even that little guy is crossing perfectly fine."
As she spoke, Poppy pointed up at a Flopper Hopper who was jumping across the stones, nearing the other side of the river...
It took one last big hop, about to reach its final destination, when a massive fish suddenly jumped up out of the river, swallowing the tiny critter in one big gulp...
Poppy and Branch stared with wide eyes in complete and utter shock, traumatized by what they had just witnessed...
"S... see? " Poppy said, chuckling quietly as she turned back to Branch with an innocent grin. "Perfectly safe..."
Branch blinked, his mouth hanging open in shock, his horrified eyes still locked on the river where the appalling affair had just occurred...
"Nope... not doing it," he finally stated, looking back down at the map.
"Come on, Branch," Poppy whined, slightly stomping her little feet on the ground below her. "It's the only way across... and we have to find my mom!"
"We have to stay safe," Branch responded firmly, still carefully looking at the map. "There's no way I'm letting anything bad happen to you, Poppy... I'll find another way... I promise... I won't let you down..."
"Hmph..." Poppy pouted, crossing her arms as she turned away from her boyfriend in dissatisfaction... "Copper was right... you're such a party popper..."
"You know you like it," Branch teased with a slight grin, still looking down at the map in his hands, Poppy just rolling her eyes in response...
Slowly, she looked over at the stones forming a path across the river before turning her gaze back to Branch who was completely distracted by the map...
"Maybe... if we go this way..." he mumbled softly to himself, trying his best to find a safer path forwards...
Poppy smiled mischievously as she realized her safety nerd boyfriend no longer had any idea what she was doing, and then sneakily headed towards the river before he could notice...
"Ok, Poppy," Branch finally stated, still not even looking up at her. "It'll take a few days longer... but if we go around the mountains we can..."
"Hey, Branch!" he suddenly heard in a faraway sounding shout. "I'm already across!"
Confused, the blue pop troll looked up, horrified to see that Poppy was now on the other side of the river, a smug grin on her face as she crossed her arms, seeming rather proud of herself...
"What!?" he gasped, his eyes widening at the sight. "But... how... how did..."
"Come on, Branch," she interrupted, waving her arm through the air to call him forwards. "Just hop across the stones. It's easy!"
He looked back at the small rocks barely poking out of the rushing water, gulping in terror at the thought of falling into the raging river...
"N... no... I... I can't," he said, backing away a little in fear. "I... I... I'll fall..."
"You'll be fine, Branch," Poppy assured with a smile. "Come on!"
Branch didn't move... he just kept standing there, staring at the rapids, his eyes wide...
"I... I can't..." he whimpered. "I just can't..."
The terror racing through his heart was just too much for the paranoid survivalist to handle... he wanted so badly to help Poppy find her mother... but what she was asking him to do right now... it was just too much... he couldn't do it... he just couldn't...
Poppy sighed, seeing the little blue troll's fear clearly as he stood, shaking slightly, on the other side of the river, his hands grasping tightly at his hair as he stared in horror at the expeditious flowing water, looking as if he was about to have the biggest panic attack ever conceived...
She couldn't make him to do this... even though she wanted to find her mom... she loved Branch more... he was far more important to her... and if he didn't want to do this... he didn't have to do it... they would go the long way... for Branch...
"Ok, Branch..." she finally sighed softly, her head lowering a bit in shame. "I'll come back. You don't have to do this..."
He didn't react... he was just too scared, his mind racing with several traumatizing thoughts...
With another soft sigh, Poppy headed to the edge of the river, getting ready to go comfort her terrified boyfriend...
She was about to jump onto the first stone, when Branch quickly stopped her, seeming to snap out of his horrified trance to look up at the love of his life, suddenly realizing what she was about to do...
"No, no, no!" he shouted out in a panic, waving his hands to stop the queen of pop from moving another inch forwards. "You could fall. I don't want you getting hurt..."
He looked back down at the stones, finally taking a deep calming breath...
Poppy was more important...
"I'll... I'll come to you," he said, his voice a little shaky.
"Are you sure?" Poppy asked, still concerned about her boyfriend...
He nodded in reply, seeming as if he couldn't muster up even a single word, his fear creating a large somewhat painful lump in his throat.
Finally, he jumped onto the first stone, wobbling slightly as he landed on the wet surface, almost falling immediately, his legs weak and trembling, feeling as if they would give out at any moment...
"Come on, Branch!" Poppy encouraged, trying to calm his shaky nerves and help relieve some of his fear. "You can do it!"
"O... ok..." he muttered softly, taking another deep breath. "I can do it... I can do it..."
With Poppy cheering him on from a distance, Branch took another small hop. Then another... and another...
"You got this, Branch!" Poppy yelled, clapping her hands together in supportive excitement. "You're almost done!"
He stopped on the second to last stone, looking at the next one he would have to jump to...
This rock barely stuck out of the water roaring past it, and was fairly far away from where the little blue troll stood...
A Bergen would probably be able to just step across the gap separating the two stones with no problem at all... but a tiny troll like Branch... he would have to jump pretty far to make it across safely....
"I got this... I got this..." he told himself, breathing heavily in fear, his heart pounding right out of his chest...
But he couldn't give up... he had to get across this river... he had to get to Poppy, and he had to help her find her long lost mother...
Slowly, he took a few steps back, getting a running start before leaping his way across the gap...
Luckily... Branch was able to make the jump, landing on the edge of the last stone...
Unluckily... as he landed on the slippery smoothness of the final rock... his foot slipped right out from underneath him, causing the little pop troll to fall into the raging water surrounding him...
"Branch!"