That night, after a whole month of rehabilitation, Branch was finally released from the hospital, the little gray troll finally able to go home...
The village grump walked slowly through the village, heading determinedly towards his bunker, the little troll limping slightly as he looked sadly down at the card Poppy had given him... the card he had secretly kept and was now holding in his big gray hands...
'Branch! You're invited!' the tiny piece of paper read in over the top colored writing, tiny elaborate scrapbook versions of him and Poppy glued perfectly right to the front of it...
The young boy sighed in disappointment, not even bothering to open the folded up piece of paper as he looked sadly at the beautiful card in his hands... He didn't really want to know what the invitation was for... it would only make him regret not going even more than he already did...
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Finally, the village grump arrived at his super secret, heavily fortified, Bergen proof survival bunker, the young boy riding down his elevator as he continued gazing at the card Poppy had made just for him...
'What is wrong with me...' he couldn't help but think as the elevator descended farther and farther into his underground home...
With a small click, the elevator finally came to a stop on the bottom floor of the bunker, Branch immediately flicking a switch on the wall to turn on the light and eliminate the darkness now surrounding him...
"Welcome home!" a shout suddenly rung out through what was supposed to be his empty bunker, the little gray troll jumping back as he let out a short scream of fear and surprise...
To his horror... Branch quickly realized that everyone from the village was down in his bunker... his fortress of solitude... his home!
"Wha... what the hair is going on in here!?" he shouted out in surprised anger, quickly stuffing the invitation into his hair, desperately hoping no one had seen it in his hands before he had the chance to do so...
Just then, Poppy came skipping over to her best friend, the biggest smile ever plastered on her face...
"I threw you a welcome home party," she informed excitedly, seeming rather proud of herself. "It's what the invitation I gave you was for."
"You... you broke into my bunker!?" Branch yelled, looking around in complete panic to see all the village trolls running around his home, several very young trollings jumping through his bear traps as if it were some sort of fun game while the adults were eating up all of his hard earned rations...
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" a group of trolls chanted loudly as they gathered around a yellow elder who was currently chugging down one of Branch's sweat jars...
"N... no! You... you all need to leave right now!" he demanded, panicking about what would happen if they were to stay any longer...
"Come on, Branch. It's a party! For you!" Poppy exclaimed, pulling the village grump aside so that he would stop yelling at the guests. "Besides... it's your fault... You're the one who taught me how to pick locks."
"Yeah! So you could escape if you were ever captured!" Branch yelled angrily as he glared right at the young princess. "Not to break into my home!"
Don't get him wrong... Branch actually felt quite honored that Poppy had gone through all this trouble just for him... especially since the birthday party she had thrown in his honor hadn't turned out too well... But for all the trolls to be down in his quiet intentionally secluded area all at once... it was just too much for the self appointed hermit to handle...
Totally stressed out by what was currently happening all around him... Branch's arm suddenly began to itch, the gray troll beginning to roughly scratch at it, not even realizing what he was doing as he looked around the large space in complete panic.
Raising an eyebrow in slight confusion, Poppy noticed the harsh action, the young princess shocked to see a small red rash forming on the survivalist's otherwise gray skin...
"What's wrong with your arm?" she asked in concern, pointing to where her friend was violently scratching himself...
At the sound of the question, Branch looked down, quickly realizing what he was doing... The fur was slowly returning as he looked at his arm in horror... the wolf... the monster... it was coming back, slowly taking control over the young boy once more...
"AHHH!" Branch screamed in pure terror as he quickly hid his arm behind his back, looking up at Poppy in a panic. "You... you need to get out of here..."
"What?" the young princess questioned in confusion, not understanding what was going on. "Why?"
"Now, Poppy! Just go! Get out!" he yelled out in fear before turning back to the rest of the trolls that were currently invading his bunker. "Everyone get out!"
"Jeez... chill out, dude," Dj said with a slight eye roll. "We were just trying to be nice and throw you an epic party you'll never forget."
"I don't care! I don't want a party!" Branch yelled out, seeming to be slightly crying as he ushered the group quickly towards his elevator. "Go! Now! Get out of my house!"
"Branch..." Poppy started in concern, reaching for her friend's shoulder to try and comfort him. "It's ok... just calm dow..."
But before she could finish her sentence, the wolf troll pushed the young princess harshly away from himself, turning to her with a loud growl of pure rage, almost looking as if he were about to eat the helpless child whole...
Quickly regaining control of himself, Branch's eyes widened in shock at what he had just unintentionally done, the village grump quickly running into his bathroom before locking himself inside...
"Go! Leave now!" Branch begged from inside the locked room. "Go! Get out of here!"
Poppy could hear the terror in the young boy's voice, noting that he sounded more scared than angry, the princess instantly becoming worried about her friend... something was wrong... and she was going to figure out what...
"Ok, everyone. Party's over," Poppy finally stated, turning to the other trolls with a firm look, the young princess' hands reaching up to rest on her hips.
"Aww..." everyone awed in disappointment. "But..."
"Out. Go. Shoo," Poppy insisted, ushering them all out of the bunker before another complaint could be made...
After everyone was finally gone, Poppy went to the bathroom door, knocking on it gently to get her best friend's attention...
"I'm sorry, Branch. I only wanted to make you happy," she said softly through the closed door. "I didn't mean to upset you. I should've known this would be too much... and I'm sorry about that. I really am..."
"I... it... it's fine. Just... please go," Branch whimpered in reply, looking at himself in the mirror...
To his horror, the gray troll saw that his glowing cat eyes had returned along with his thick black fur... She couldn't see him like this... what would she think? Would she think he was a monster? Would she tell her father who would then kill him for being the beast who had attacked the village? Peppy had made it abundantly clear what he wanted to do to the wolf... and if he found out that the wolf was actually the village grump...
(Drawing by Natalyartsandstuff)
Branch shivered at the realization, knowing that if anyone found out his secret... he would be dead in a matter of seconds...
An even worse thought popped into the survivalist's head at that moment, a horrible whimper escaping his throat...
What if he hurt Poppy? What if the wolf fully took control again and he hurt her... or worse... he just couldn't let that happen...
"Branch? Are you ok in there?" Poppy asked, concerned by the fear in her friend's voice...
"I'm fine!" he assured in a panicked tone, not looking away from his horrifying reflection. "Just leave!"
"Not until I see that you're ok!" the young princess refused, reaching for the doorknob...
She tried to open the door, but it was locked... the stubborn thing refusing to open...
"No, Poppy!" Branch cried, finally looking over to the door as the knob began to rattle and shake. "Please! Go a... aaaaaooooooo!"
He covered his mouth quickly, trying to hold in the noise that had just burst out so unexpectedly...
"What was that?" Poppy asked, confused by the strange sound that had just emerged from the room Branch was locked in...
"Nothing!" Branch yelled through his hands. "Just go home!"
Poppy sighed, rolling her eyes in frustration as she got down onto her knees, refusing to leave the home of the village grump without any answers as to what was going on with him...
"Think a locked door can stop me?" she grumbled softly under her breath as she pulled her handy scrapbooking scissors out of her hair. "I'll show you..."
Without hesitation, the young princess stuck the scissors into the lock, quietly twisting them until the door finally popped open...
"N... no, Poppy. Please... d... don't look at me," Branch begged from inside the room, the door still partially shut, hiding his appearance from the concerned troll on the other side...
"What's wrong, Branch? I just want..."
The princess froze when she finally opened the door fully, shocked to see Branch huddled in the corner, tears flowing from his crystal blue eyes...
"Branch..." she gasped in disbelief, her eyes wide in absolute terror...