Poppy sat anxiously in the waiting room of the hospital, her foot rapidly tapping against the floor as she waited rather impatiently for the doctor to give her news about Branch...
She just couldn't stop worrying about her best friend... Was he ok? Did he make it through the surgery? Was... was he...
"Princess Poppy..."
The unknown voice made her jump slightly in shock... She had been so focused on her horrifying thoughts... the young troll hadn't even realized a doctor had been standing just in front of her for the past few minutes...
"The surgery went well," the doctor informed with a comforting smile. "He's in his room if you want to go see him."
"Thank you, Dr. Sparkleton," Poppy thanked as she quickly ran off down the hall, not even waiting for a response... she had to get to Branch... she just had to see he was ok...
Finally reaching the open door, Poppy rushed into the hospital room, instantly seeing Branch laying peacefully in his bed...
(Drawing by Natalyartsandstuff)
With a silent sigh of relief, Poppy slowly headed over to Branch, sitting down in the chair that was placed directly beside his bed...
"I'm right here, Branch..." she whispered to the gray troll, taking his hand gently in hers. "I'm right here beside you... you're not alone..."
A small weak smile came to the survivalist's face as he subconsciously tightened his grip slightly on the young princess' hand...
Tears immediately bursting out of her eyes once more... Poppy smiled, laughing softly in joy at the feeling...
He was going to be ok... she just knew... Branch was going to make it through this...
Relaxing in the knowledge that Branch was now safe... the young princess yawned, laying her head beside the gray troll as she slowly drifted off to sleep...
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"Ugh..." Branch suddenly groaned after a few hours, slowly beginning to wake up from his long dreamless slumber... "My head..."
He had a wicked headache, the room seeming to spin around him as the little gray troll lay weakly in his bed...
Where was he? What was going on?
A bright white light instantly flooded the survivalist's vision as he blinked open his eye, making it impossible to see his surroundings...
"Ugh..." he groaned, shutting his eyes once more, suddenly becoming painfully aware of the agonizing sensation in both his ear and hip...
Slowly, he reached up to rub his ear, trying to relieve the awful throbbing pain, but that only seemed to make it worse, a sharp stab suddenly shooting through it instead...
"Ow!" he shouted out uncontrollably, the pain just too intense to bare as he quickly yanked his hand away from his ear...
Poppy jumped at the sudden sound, waking up instantly as she looked over at Branch in a panic.
Her panic however quickly faded away, turning instead to pure joy as a large smile came to the young princess' face...
"Branch! You're awake!" she yelled excitedly, quickly flinging her arms around him, giving her friend the biggest hug of all time.
"Y... yeah..." he muttered, seeming a bit out of it as he gently touched his ear again, immediately wincing in pain at the feeling...
"Are you ok?" Poppy asked softly in concern, her smile fading into a small frown...
"Y... yeah..." Branch mumbled, his eyes still shut and head resting lightly on his pillow. "I'm fine... I... I'm... I'm o... ok..."
That was a lie... he was still so dizzy... so tired... so weak... an agonizing pain constantly coursing through his entire body...
But he certainly couldn't tell that to Poppy... he didn't want her to worry...
"Do... do you remember what happened?" Poppy finally asked after a short moment of silence, gently taking Branch's hand in hers once more... "Do you know how you got hurt?"
"Um..." Branch stuttered, his eyes opening back up to look at her, the survivalist's vision finally clearing up just a bit...
He actually did remember what had happened to him... at first his memories were cloudy... but now seemed to replay over and over in his brain...
But if he explained what had caused his major injuries to Poppy... she would know his secret... that he was the wolf... He couldn't let that happen...
"I... uh... I... I don't..." he lied, looking away from the young princess in shame...
Poppy sighed at Branch's words, somewhat unknowingly stroking the back of his hand...
Shocked by the strangely comforting feeling, Branch looked at the two of their hands touching, and then blushed a bit, actually liking it...
Quickly, the village grump realized what was happening, shaking his head slightly to snap himself out of his trance before horridly pulling his hand away from Poppy's...
"Don't touch me," he hissed firmly, looking away from the love of his life yet again as he crossed his arms in faked anger...
Poppy sighed at Branch's sudden grumpiness, lowering her head in disappointment, but she did begin keeping her hands to herself like the gray troll wanted...
He was certainly back to his normal self...
"I'm sorry..." Poppy apologized softly, not daring to look up at the the village grump. "I was just happy that you're ok..."
Branch smiled slightly at the young princess' words, the statement making his heart flutter, but he did make sure to keep his overwhelming happiness hidden, not wanting that secret getting out either...
"Y... yeah. What ever..." he grumbled, wiping away the smile from his face. "Can you just go away now? I want to be alone..."
Poppy nodded in response to the question, respecting her friend's decision as she finally turned to walk away without another word...
Branch turned when all he heard was pure and utter silence, looking suddenly sad as he watched Poppy leave his sight...
The truth was... he didn't want her to go... he didn't want to be alone... but he couldn't let her know that. He couldn't let anyone know that... Bad things happen to those he loved... and that's why he couldn't get too close to her. He needed to protect her. Protect her... from himself...