John Dory is both grateful and extremely frustrated that Peppy decided to wait until the dawn of Trollstice to escape. On one hand, the king had told him to be with Branch after what happened to Rosiepuff and it gave him the time he needed to comfort his baby as much as possible. It also gave him the chance to explain what was going on to Branch, that they'd finally be leaving, which made the boy as excited as he could be. And the plan had spread around the tree through invitations, made with the help of Princess Viva.
On the other hand, waiting also felt like a fucking lifetime. And it made John more paranoid that something would go wrong, that if everything didn't go smoothly, it would all fall apart. What if the tunnels weren't finished in time? What if they collapsed? What if they got caught and everyone got eaten?
John had been terrified the entire time they were in those tunnels, Branch tucked safety in his hair despite the boys protesting. Everyone had what little they could carry on their backs. Thankfully, they were in the first wave to go through and since John had helped dig them, he lead the group through safely.
And coming out on the other side had felt magical, almost. There were trees everywhere and grass and flowers and it made everyone feel at home, finally closer to nature after so long. Trolls were built for the wild, their tree once being part of a lush forest that the Bergens had leveled to build their town. And now they're finally free. The escape had been successful.
Mostly. John's ears droop as he remembers the group that got left behind. The tunnels had collapsed at some point, about thirty trolls trapped behind them. One of them had been the princess. Peppy was devastated, John could tell. He hid it from everyone else, occupying himself with finding a good place for them to live and his other daughter, Poppy. She was only two, not much younger than Branch, and John's heart aches for that poor girl.
Watching Branch touch a blade of grass curiously, the boy asks him, "What is this? It looks like a leaf but it's in the dirt?"
That's probably the cutest and saddest thing John has ever heard. "That's grass, buddy. It grows out of the ground all over, like the moss."
"Oh. Cool." Branch points. "What's that?"
John looks and chuckles. "That's a pinecone. It's like a big bunch of seeds for a tree stuck together."
"Woah," the boy whispers. "What kind of tree? Our tree doesn't have those."
"Pinecones come from pine trees. They're super, super tall and pointy at the top and instead of leaves, they have green needles all over them."
"No way!" Branch gasps.
"Yes way." John smirks. "I've seen them. There's probably one close by if a pinecone is here, so maybe I can show you."
"That'd be so cool!" Branch's eyes sparkle, making John smile. He's so glad his boy is feeling at least a little bit better for now.
His colors are still very dulled, but John has faith he'll get better. His eyes are still the beautiful mismatched sky blue and navy, which John is grateful for. At least part of Branch is still a little bright and that gives JD hope.
Branch also hasn't sung a note since the incident and it makes John a little bit nervous. Most trollings can't go longer than a day without singing, even when they're sad, so John hopes he can get Branch to talk to him, or maybe someone else about what happened.
"What kind of tree was our tree?" Branch asks, looking up at him.
"It was an oak tree. They have smaller seeds but they're still bigger than you."
"Hey! I'm not small," Branch says, glaring at him.
"You are, love." John snickers as he crosses his arms and pouts. He ruffles his hair. "Don't worry, you'll grow, little man."
"JD!" Branch whines, pushing his hand away. He tries to walk off but John picks him up, holding him upside down as he laughs. "Put me down!"
"Nah, I don't think I will," John says, laughing as Branch's kicks his feet and giggles. Other trolls watch the two laugh together and smile and it brightens up everyone else's moods.
After a solid minute of holding a squirmy Branch, John flips him around in his arms, now on his hip as the boy laughs. "Now I'm dizzyyy."
"Awe, my poor firefly," John says, kissing his forehead.
Branch looks up at him. "Why do you call me that stuff?"
John pauses. 'Firefly' is actually a nickname he'd used with Floyd a lot as a kid. He hadn't really thought about it but he used all of his brother's nicknames for Branch. Firefly, angel, love, even bubba was a name he'd called Clay a few times. "Do you not like it?"
"No! I like it!" Branch says, blushing as his volume. "I just wanna know why."
John snorts. "I just like calling you cute names, bud."
"Oh, okay." Branch's eyebrows furrow. "What's a firefly, though?"
"A firefly is kinda like a glowfly. They're a bit bigger and they glow a pretty yellow color."
Branch tilts his head. "Why am I a firefly?"
John smiles softly and kisses his forehead again. "Because you're like a firefly. You light up everything around you."
Branch blushes and hides in his chest, making John chuckle and hug him close.
"Attention!" King Peppy calls, getting everyone's attention. "We shall make our camp here. We can begin rebuilding tomorrow." The older troll stands on top of a mushroom and gestures around them. "Welcome home, everyone!" All of them cheer, some trolls crying and hugging each other. It's been such a long day, and it's such a relief to finally be somewhere safe.
Everyone disperses, going to find spots to claim for their future pods. John hangs back a bit, and walks over to Peppy. "Your Majesty," John greets him.
"Oh, come now, young man, I've told you already, it's just Peppy for friends and family," Peppy sighs, smiling at them. "And hello there, Branch. How are you, lad?"
"I'm okay, Mister Peppy," Branch says shyly.
"Are you excited to be here, my boy? I bet it's going to lots of fun for all you kids here," Peppy says, chuckling as Poppy pokes her head out of his hair. "Poppy is super excited."
"Yeah!" Poppy waves at Branch happily. "Hi, Branch!"
"Hi, Poppy," Branch says, waving back and blushing. John raises an eyebrow and he glares up at him. "I'm excited! I can't wait to see all the cool plants, JD told me about Pine trees and said he'd show me one!"
"Oh really? That's so cool of him," Peppy says, chuckling. "Now, you boys go find your spot. Me and Poppy need to secure ours too." He turns to leave but JD grabs his arm.
"Peppy," John says, the older troll looking at him. "If you need anything, you can come to me, okay?"
Peppy smiles sadly at him and nods. "You too, John Dory. Thank you." He walks away.
Branch tugs on John's sleeve. "What's up, bubba?"
Branch fiddles with the leaf vest he was wearing. "Do you think we could build the hideout?"
John's eyebrow raise. "The one you and Floyd came up with?"
"Mmhm." Branch nods. "Can we? Pleeeeaaase?" He uses his puppy eyes.
Goddamnit, kid. "Yeah, we can do that, bud."
Branch smiles brightly. "Yay! Let's go find a spot!" He wiggles until John puts him down. He then grabs John's paw and pulls him.
"You still want to have it further from the village, right?" John asks. He vaguely remembers the idea from when Floyd and Branch had started talking about it, and he'd thought it was cute that they wanted to do something together. Even if the rest of them were a bit confused by the idea.
"Yeah. I don't wanna be too close to everyone else." Branch whispers, "They're too loud."
John's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Too loud? What do you mean?"
"They're too loud! The Bergens could still find us, it's not safe," Branch says, looking nervously around them.
John squeezes his hand. "It's okay, buddy, I promise they won't find us out here." He smiles softly. "If it'll make you feel better, we can be a bit further out. A nice quiet spot sounds nice actually."
Branch beams up at him and starts pulling him again, more excited this time. John laughs as he's dragged towards the tree line and into the forest. What am I getting myself into?