branch's pov:
my body ached with pain. and i was so, so, dizzy. being shook around in a bottle all day was no easy task. however, it was necessary if i wanted to keep my brothers and girlfriend safe.
that was the only selfless thought i'd had in a while, which was very enlightening. i'd become acceptant of my selfishness. i can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing. but it's a thing alright.
"ugh my hand is getting tired. your turn veneer." velvet complained before tossing the bottle over to her brother.
veneer rolled his eyes slightly before giving the bottle a light shake, not nearly as hard as velvet had.
velvet shook her head disapprovingly. "you've got to shake it harder if your ever going to make him talk."
veneer did as told and shook me up and down just like velvet had done.
"now you're going to-" he began to speak before i cut in sharply.
"fine, fine, i'll tell you where they are!!" i announced finally, crossing my arms reluctantly.
both veneer and velvet gave each other happy smirks before turning their heads to me.
i had no real intention of telling them where troll village was. i was going to lead them in a random direction so that i had time to text my brothers (which i realized i should have done way sooner!!) before giving away the real location.
i pointed out a random path hesitantly, ensuring that i was believable. "over there."
"looks like tough guy isn't so tough after all." velvet teased, shaking the bottle once more before stuffing me in her pocket.
that comment really bothered me, but what was i supposed to do?
once i was sure they couldn't see me anymore, i whipped my phone out and immediately texted the bro zone group chat. (yes.. we have one.):
branch: anyone there?
floyd: BRANCH????
bruce: where are you????????????
floyd: we've been looking for you!!!
clay: huh?
branch: no time to explain. velvet and veneer are on their way to troll village. get everyone somewhere safe now.
clay: BRANCH!?
floyd: but where are you???
john dory: did somebody say branch??
john dory: OH!!
branch (reply to floyd): velvet's pocket.
clay: WHAT??!!?
branch: stop texting me!! get everyone to safety now!!
clay started typing before stopping. the whole group chat went silent.
hopefully by the time velvet and veneer realized they had been mislead, all the trolls would be safe and sound in my bunker.
i say hopefully, because that's definitely not what happened.
bruce's pov:
me and my brothers all gathered around each other excitedly once we got that text from branch. we were all still in the forest searching for clues when we were interrupted.
but that excitement was short lived when he started talking about velvet and veneer.
"we've got to get to troll village!!" clay ordered urgently.
i rolled my eyes. "yeah, i think we knew that.."
floyd immediately spoke up. "what about branch???"
we all looked at each other for a bit.
"if velvet and veneer are coming to the village, they'll be bringing branch with them too." clay stated simply.
floyd hesitated before deciding that maybe clay was right. "alright lets head back.."
floyd was worried for our little bro. and i was too. we all were. but clay had a good point. there would be time to save branch later.
hopefully.
floyd's pov:
it really isn't worth fighting over wether we should go looking for branch or not. the clock was ticking, and we only had so much time to secure troll village before velvet and veneer came. but then how come i felt like such a horrible brother? i felt like maybe i should've put up more of a fight.
clay seemed to notice, so he walked a bit closer to me on the way back. we had been speed walking back to troll village, because we knew john dory's old bones wouldn't hold up if we began running.
"your a good brother you know." clay comforted me.
i gave him a slight smile before sighing. "it doesn't feel like it."
"but it sure does look like it. you'd do anything for that kid.. literally!" clay chuckled.
i giggled a bit. "he's not a kid anymore."
clay punched me in the arm playfully. i smiled back at him. god clay knew how to make a troll happy. i guess it's all that reading. or viva. or-
my thoughts were instantly cut off once i realized we were in troll village.
john dory let out a sigh. "how are we going to do this?"
i looked around before answering. "we should tell queen poppy. she'll know what to do."
john nodded his head before motioning for us to follow him to poppy's pod. we followed up the path leading to her pod, our pace was fast. many trolls noticed, all heads turning our way as we continued to walk up to poppy's pod. many whispers swept over troll village as a crowd was formed.
some trolls tried asking questions but we all refused to answer. we couldn't have troll village freaking out just yet.
finally, we were standing outside poppy's door. bruce stepped forward and knocked on it.
"coming!" poppy's cheery voice announced.
we all kind of stood their awkwardly until poppy came out the door, a huge smile on her face.
"wasn't expecting you guys! what's up?" her smile faltered once she saw the expression on our face.
we were all kind of unsure how to put it into words.
clay spoke first. "velvet and veneer. their heading here now and we need to get all the trolls to safety."
poppy looked as if she'd just been told a funny joke. "hah, you guys are so funny!! velvet and veneer are in jail sillies!! nice try though. you almost got me!"
i shook my head profusely. "no poppy! we're being serious!!"
poppy's eyes widened a bit. "you're sure? one time branch told me that the bergens were-"
"YES, poppy. we're sure." i said that a little more rudely than i had to, but it got the point across.
poppy nodded her head, now serious. her hair instantly formed into a megaphone as she stepped out her pod.
"TROLL VILLAGE IS UNDER ATTACK. GET IN BRANCH'S BUNKER. NOW!!!" poppy announced.
all trolls immediately started screaming and running around frenziedly. there were trolls stepping over other trolls, attempting to be first in the bunker. trolls always have a way of overreacting.
"we should get going too, queen poppy." bruce sighed.
she shook her head.
"what about branch!?"
thats the end!!! longest chapter so far! 🎉 (please comment i love hearing feedback. it really boosts my ego for real)