Two days... it had only been two days... and Branch was already starting to break from the isolation...

     The solitude reminded him too much of his bunker days, so many horrible memories invading his brain.

     He had thought that he would be used to being alone by now, but with all that time he's spent with the other trolls... with Poppy... with his two beautiful children... being without them was like being stranded in the desert without any water...

     Speaking of being without water... since they had locked him in this dark empty room with no windows... they hadn't given him a crumb of food or a drip of water... what kind of torture was this?

     A loud grumble rung through his tummy, causing the light blue pop troll to wince slightly in pain as he clutched tightly at his stomach, trying desperately to make it shut up. It was only a depressing reminder of how starving he was... he needed something to eat... now...

     It didn't help that there was nothing he could do to take his mind off the painful gnawing in his stomach. He couldn't even pace around since the room was so small, barely big enough for him to even move...

     All he could do was sit on the floor, hugging his legs close to his chest as the darkness of the empty room surrounded him, threatening to swallow him whole...

     He couldn't help it... he tried... he tried so hard to keep them... but with all the torturous thoughts... painful memories... racing through his head... he just couldn't bring himself to hold onto them, his colors slowly fading into a dull grey...

     Unable to sit up any longer, the now grey pop troll fell to his side, his eyes feeling heavy as he struggled to keep them open.

     He was so weak... so hungry... he didn't know how he was going to last another two whole days in here...

     His breathing slowing down dramatically, Branch just couldn't stay awake any longer, unconsciousness quickly taking hold of him...

—————

     Azalea stood by the bunker elevator, her favorite book in hand as she awaited her father to finally come home...

     He had never... never... missed her goodnight story time... so where was he these past few days?

     "Azalea! It's time for bed, sweetie!" Poppy called out from her daughter's bedroom, having already tucked in Twig for the night. "Azalea?"

     Hearing no answer from the little four year old, Poppy decided to go investigate, heading out into the living room to find her precious little girl...

     The queen of pop sighed, her ears drooping down slightly as she unsurprisingly spotted her daughter standing by the elevator no doubt waiting for her father to come riding down it...

     She had been doing this every night since Branch was... arrested...

     "Azalea?" Poppy said softly, the little girl turning to her with tears in her multi colored eyes. "When is daddy coming home?" she asked in a soft whimper.

     Poppy sighed, slowly walking over to lift her daughter into her arms.

     "He's... he's not going to be home for a while..." she said softly, wiping the tears from the four year old's eyes. "But I promise... I'm working on getting him home sooner. Mommy just needs to set some things straight... now... let's get you to bed."

     With a big yawn, Azalea rested her head on her mother's shoulder as the older pink troll carried her away.

     "I miss daddy..." the little girl muttered softly, allowing her eyes to fall shut.
"I do too, sweetie..." Poppy whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I do too..."