"What are you doing here Creek?" Iris yelled, balling up her fists, "I thought I told you that I never wanted to see your face again!"

"Oh come on cousin, can't we just put all of that in the past?" Creek smirked, Iris didn't say a word, she just glared at Creek, "so I see you're still finishing the work your dad started, huh?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Nearly ten years, I'll be released at eleven," Iris stated. Her father was part of a scouting academy, where trolls and other creatures train for a certain amount of years in order to keep the forest and their tribes safe. But unfortunately, he was eaten by a bergen and he still had at least eleven more years until he could be released, so Iris had to finish the trial for him.

"It is a shame," Creek started. Iris perked up her ears.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, you're father kept on leaving as you were growing up..."

"That might be," Iris said angrily, trying to keep her temper in, "but he always returned."

"Not only that but when he died, he left his trial on your shoulders and here you are, spending over half your life training." Creek spoke. Iris couldn't take it anymore, she whipped her hair at him, wrapping it around his neck.

"It wasn't his fault!" She snapped, "he was a better father than yours! Your dad abandoned me when I was barely a day old!"

"Our dad, Iris" Creek corrected, "you were born to him."

"He is nothing to me!" Iris spoke through gritted teeth, trying to hold back her tears, "I know his wife died while giving birth to me, but he has no reason to throw me out like I was nothing!" Iris paused, then took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I don't need you or Zack." Iris always called her birth parents by their first names, she didn't have the courage to call them 'mom' or 'dad'.

"So you're just going to remain alone in the world?" Creek chuckled.

"I'm not alone, I have Branch," Iris said, turning away from Creek, "and as soon as I'm released, I'm going back to him."

"You don't know?" Creek asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I came here because I needed to tell you that..." Iris turned to meet his gaze. "Branch is gone..." Iris' eyes widened.

"What?" she asked, tears forming in her dark blue eyes.

"The bergens attacked troll village. They took a handful of trolls, including Branch and myself...he didn't make it." Creek explained. Iris stared at the ground, shaking her head.

"No...no...you're lying," Iris whispered, her quiet voice soon turning into a shout, "all you ever do is lie!"

"I know it's hard to believe," Creek said softly, "but I'm the only family you have left. He's gone now," tears began to stream from Iris' eyes, down her purple cheeks. Creek started to smile, "I need your help with something..."

"Creek, I-I...just need some space right now..." Iris sighed as she turned and walked out of the hut, Creek nodded.

Iris sat on one of the tree branches outside her hut, looking up at the stars. She couldn't bare the thought of her little brother being dead. There was a part of her that didn't believe Creek in the slightest, but the other part of her did. Iris remembered the last time she saw Branch. She was sixteen at the time, a year older than him. They were walking around the outskirts of the village, when two larger trolls approached them.

10 years earlier

The larger trolls didn't look like any troll Branch or Iris had seen around the village, but judging by their brown-orange fur and pointy ears they were rivered trolls.

"You two kids don't seem to know of a troll named Thorn do you?" one of the large trolls spoke in a firm voice, "he's a rivered troll, brown skin and royal blue hair."
Iris and Branch looked at each other, the description matched their father, even his name. The two of them stayed quiet.

"Got something blocked in your ears? Answer the question!" The other troll snapped which scared Branch, causing him to back away and hide behind his sister.

"He died years ago," Iris replied, feeling a little bit intimidated. Branch poked his head over Iris' shoulder. The larger trolls looked closely at Iris, then at Branch. They took a closer look at Branch's ears.

"Thorn said he had a son with ears like that, wrong colors though. His son had blue skin, not grey...unless..." The troll thought for a moment, "you music trolls can turn grey, can't you?" Branch and Iris remained silent.

"You two are his kids aren't you?" The other troll smirked. "Get the boy, he needs to finish what his father started!" The trolls approached them as Iris shielded Branch from the larger trolls, not letting them touch him.

"Stay away from us!" Iris barked, but the trolls just shoved her out of the way. Branch tried to run away but one of the trolls grabbed his tail, stopping Branch in his tracks. The troll held Branch up by his tail, preventing him from escaping.

"Let go of me!" Branch yelped, attempting to struggle out of the troll's grip. He climbed onto the troll's arm and bit down on his hand hard, causing the troll to yell in pain and throw Branch against a tree. He hit the tree hard. Branch lay there, not moving.

"Branch!" Iris cried, running over to where her brother was lying. He was still breathing, he was just unconscious. She held Branch close in her arms. The larger trolls stomped over towards Iris. "Leave him alone!" she yelled, "take me instead!" The trolls stopped.

"You?" The trolls laughed. Iris nodded.

"Whatever it is you need me to do, I'll do it! Just leave my brother alone," said Iris, the trolls stared at her, then looked at each other.

"Alright then, come on!" One of the trolls demanded.

"Wait, I can't just leave Branch here!" Iris cried. The troll grabbed her tail and pulled her away from Branch, she tried to hold on to him, hugging him close, "I'll come back Buddy, I promise." She kissed him on the forehead before being pulled away by the trolls.

***
The trolls brought Iris to the scouting academy, where she had stayed up to now. She took out her pendant that was tucked into her vest. Branch had one exactly like it, the shape of a sea lykar's flukes, but his had blue gems to match his true colors, Iris' was purple to match her's. She stared back at the stars.

"I love you Buddy," she whispered before quietly sobbing into her hands.

***

It was late at night and Branch was sitting on one of the rocks in the lagoon. Spirit was in the water swimming around in circles, starting to get used to the new brace. Branch was so focused on Spirit swimming that she didn't even notice Poppy sit beside him on the rock.

"I've been looking for you all evening," Poppy said, gently. She couldn't help but notice Branch's sad expression, "are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just...thinking about Spirit," Branch sighed, Poppy looked concerned.

"What about her?" she asked.

"She's going to be released in a week. I'm happy for her, but I'm really going to miss her,"

"I get it. You two have really bonded. But I'm sure she would come back," Poppy reassured. The two trolls went quiet.

Spirit looked up at the trolls. She could tell by their expressions that they liked each other, she noticed Branch's cheeks and ears darkening. There was a tree branch above Poppy and Branch's heads with beautiful white flowers on it. Using her tail, Spirit flicked water at the branch, causing some of the flowers to fall and drift slowly down around the two trolls, one landed on Branch's head, just behind his ear.

"Aww," Poppy cooed, "that flower suits you," she stroked Branch's cheek, which made him blush. He took the flower from his hair and placed it behind Poppy's ear.

"It looks better on you though, you look beautiful," Branch said shyly, brushing Poppy hair with his hand. Spirit looked at the them, they seemed to like the little flower surprise, so why not give them another one? She swam away from them, into the center of the lagoon, she disappeared under the water for a few seconds and leaped into the air, splashing water into the sky. The droplets that Spirit kicked into the air sparkled in the moonlight as they fell back into the water. Poppy gazed in awe at the sight of it.

"Did you get Spirit to do this?" Poppy asked, Branch hesitated. Spirit poked her head out of the water and nodded to him.

"Of course I did," said Branch, "I wanted to make the night as beautiful as you." Poppy smiled and blushed at Branch's words. Spirit swam behind the rock that the two trolls were sitting on, she carefully grabbed Branch's tail in her mouth and moved it towards Poppy's, shifting him closer to her, when Spirit let go of his tail, Branch coiled his tail around Poppy's and placed his hand on her hand. He looked into Poppy's eyes and moved his head closer, but he soon snapped out of his trance and realized what he was about to do. "Uh...sorry Poppy..." Branch's cheeks blushed deep purple as he scratched the back of his neck, "I just...I..." Poppy had never seen Branch blush so much, she placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him, she then grabbed his big ears, pulled his head closer and pressed her lips against his. Branch's eyes were wide, he soon relaxed and returned the kiss, placing his hands on her shoulders. Poppy let go of Branch's ears and moved her hands to his blushing cheeks. Spirit smiled, then she dove underwater to give the them some privacy. Poppy and Branch parted themselves and smiled at each other, still staying silent and looking into each other's eyes.
Spirit emerged from the water and climbed up onto the far edge of the lagoon, she sighed in relief as she smiled at the two love birds. Her smile soon disappeared as she turned her head towards the rock stack at the end of the lagoon, her ears twitching. There was something on the other side of the stack. She repeatedly smacked her tail against the ground and let out a low growl. (something lykars do when they feel threatened)
Branch and Poppy noticed Spirit's strange behavior and walked over towards her. When they caught up with Spirit, she darted towards them, she crouched down beside the two trolls with her tail shielding them from the rock stack, she was protecting them.

"What is it this time?" Branch asked, "this better not lead us on another expedition!" Spirit's growls started to get louder and louder, her eyes locked on the rocks. "Spirit, it's a rock! It's not going to attack us!" Branch said, he was starting to get a bit annoyed, he climbed over Spirit's tail and walked to the rock stack, Spirit snarled and barked at him. "See?" Branch placed his hand on the rock, "it's just a normal ro-" Before Branch could finish, a creature leapt from behind one of the higher rocks and pinned him to the ground. It was another sea lykar. Branch screamed as the lykar growled at him, it's face was centimeters away from Branch's.

"Spirit! Help him!" Poppy cried. Spirit ran to Branch and knocked the lykar away from Branch, using her head. The force of it knocked the lykar to the ground. Poppy ran to Branch and helped him off of the ground, trying to get him to safety. As for the two lykars, they were face to face, scratching and biting one another. They dove into the water and started to head-butt each other. Poppy and Branch watched in horror as Spirit fought the lykar, their growls and squeals rattled the their ears. The lykar jumped out of the water and on to the lagoon edge, Spirit followed behind and pinned it against the wall of the cliff. The two lykars looked into each other's eyes for a while but soon began to relax, Spirit took a step away from the lykar, they started to sniff each other.

"W-what are they d-doing?" Branch whispered to Poppy, his voice still shaking from the shock of being attacked by the other lykar. Branch noticed Spirit's tail start to wag side to side and a smile spread across her face, she soon let out a squeal of excitement and the two lykars jumped on their hind legs while squeaking and squealing.

"Uh...what's going on here?" Poppy asked, "they were attacking each other just a minute ago." Branch took a closer look at the other lykar, it was the same lykar he saw back at the aquarium on the other side of the cliff, the one with the teal flukes and the yellow, orange eyes.

"Spirit knows him," said Branch, "he's the one we saw the other night, they must have been in the aquarium together." Spirit turned to Branch, he smiled at her. "We'll give you two some time alone."

Once Branch and Poppy left the lagoon, Spirit turned back to her lykar friend, Askar. She nuzzled her head into his chest as he leaned his head on top of Spirit's. "I missed you, Askar," Spirit sighed, "but what are you doing here?" She noticed Askar's ears begin to droop as he looked down at the ground."

"Well, I overheard the trainers talking and they're going to transfer me to another aquarium," Askar sighed, Spirit's eyes widened and her ears perked up.

"What? To where?" She asked.

"To the marine park near corner's cove," Askar replied, "apparently they only have one lykar left there, so they're going to send me there. That's why I'm here, I tried to escape, but then I heard strange noises on the other side of these rocks and I found you, I guess there's no getting out of here is there?" Spirit couldn't believe what she was hearing. Their plan was to escape and be free together, but it seemed that when Askar gets transferred, they'll never see each other again. After a little bit, Spirit's face lifted.

"Askar, you're in luck because the trolls here are going to release me in just a week, you can come with me and we'll get as far away from this place as possible," Spirit exclaimed, but was confused by Askar's doubtful expression.

"That's way too big of a risk," Askar said. He pointed at a dark, fluke-shaped mark on his back with his nose, Spirit had the same mark on her chest, "as long as this brand mark is on our skin, we'll always belong to the aquarium. Also the trainers are looking for the both of us and when they discover us in this lagoon, it's game over. I'll be transferred and who knows what they'll do to you because of the...incident." Spirit didn't think about it that way, as soon as they see the lagoon, the snatchers will come looking for them.

"We just have to hold on until this time, next week. Just trust me," Spirit said confidently, she looked at Askar, her big blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight. Askar let out a sigh.

"Okay," he agreed, Spirit wrapped her neck around Askar's, "but if we get caught, I'm blaming you," he laughed. Spirit smiled, happy to have her friend back.

***

The next morning, Branch and Poppy were walking through the rivered trolls village with Tekai, Branch explained everything about the other lykar.

"So there are two lykars in the lagoon now?" Tekai asked Branch.

"It would appear so, yes," Branch replied, "but at least the new one isn't hostile, Spirit knows him, they have a good friendship." Tekai stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow at Branch. "Now I know how this looks,"

"If you didn't, I'd be worried," Tekai laughed, "you know, Clay isn't going to be very please about two lykars in the lagoon."

"I know, but if we can keep the other one out of Clay's way until the day of the test," Branch started.

"And how exactly are you planning on doing that?" Tekai asked.

"Just leave it to me, okay kid?" Branch patted Tekai on the shoulder and smiled at her.

"And if all else fails, Clay can have a talk with the queen of the trolls," Poppy added on, causing Tekai to smile.

Suddenly, Correy came from behind the three trolls, "hey guys!" he greeted.

"Correy! What are you doing here?" Tekai asked.

"Didn't you hear? Kona has come back from her travels," Correy announced. Tekai's face lifted.

"Wait, who's Kona?" Poppy asked.

"She's basically the 'village's crazy lady'," Tekai stated.

"Really? I thought that was your occupation, Tekai," Branch laughed, followed by a grunt as Tekai punched him in the arm.

"Kona's in the town square," Correy pointed out.

The town square was filled with rivered trolls coming to greet Kona. Every year, Kona spends three months exploring the different areas on the island, visiting new villages, meeting new people, she even finds someway to get herself into trouble every time.

"Kona!" Tekai called as she waved at amongst in the crowd, Kona's pointy ears twitched when she heard her name, she turned to see Tekai and Correy and walks over to them.

"Tekai! Correy! How are you kids doing?" Kona asked as she hugged the two rivered trolls. Kona was quite an old troll, but had a very positive personality. She had brown skin and long, wild green hair, she wore a long dark-brown cloak, but her right arm was missing and her left leg was replaced with a prosthetic.

"We're great," Tekai replied, "Kona, I'd like to introduce you to Branch and Queen Poppy," Kona bowed before Poppy, then gave her a big hug.

"I'm a hugger, incase you didn't realize," Kona whispered in Poppy's ear, Poppy grinned and squeezed the old troll. "And look at you," Kona turned to Branch, "you're a cutie aren't you?" she said as she hugged the blue troll, Branch rolled his eyes when Kona called him cute. "Well, it was so nice to meet you. Tekai, Correy I'd love to catch up with you two later," the trolls waved to Kona as she walked off.

"She's so sweet!" Poppy exclaimed, "I haven't had a big, friendly hug like that in a while!" The four trolls were just about to walk off, when they overheard Kona speaking with one of the other rivered trolls.

"How did you get all those scars on your shoulder, Kona? Were you attacked?" one rivered troll asked her.

"Oh, a creature attacked me while I was deep in the forest," Kona replied, "but luckily, I was rescued by another troll before the creature could do any fatal damage. She took me in to her hut and treated my injuries, but I was amazed by her colors, I'd never seen anything like them. She had purple skin and her hair was two-toned, it was dark blue, but faded to light blue on the tips of her hair," Branch's ears perked up, those colors sounded familiar to him. Was it Iris? Could she still be alive? Branch didn't say a word, he just froze.

"Branch?" Poppy placed a hand on his shoulder, "are you okay?" she asked. Branch didn't reply, he just stared down at the ground.

"What's up with him? Is he sick?" Tekai asked, a little bit concerned "is he about to pass out?" Branch didn't move, his mind was overwhelmed with questions. How could Iris be alive? He was told that she was killed. Is he sure it was Iris? It could have been another troll?

"Branch!" Poppy started to shake his shoulders, Branch finally snapped out of his trance, "what happened? Do you need to sit down?" Branch just shook his head.

"Kona said something about a purple troll with two-toned hair, that's the exact colors that Iris had," Branch stated.

"Why don't you go and ask Kona?" said Poppy, "I'm sure she can tell you more about the troll she saw," Branch nodded.

"I'll go get her," Tekai said, "you sit down, you still look like you're going to faint, Tough-tail," Tekai pushed through the crowd and reached Kona, "Kona, Branch wants to ask you something," Tekai stated as she pointed to him, Kona followed where Tekai was pointing. Branch was sitting down on a rock, with Poppy by his side. Kona came over and sat beside Branch, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, sweetie?" Kona asked, Branch nodded, but soon got straight to the point.

"Kona, when you were talking to one of the other rivered trolls, you said something about being rescued by a purple troll with two-toned hair," Branch started, "and...I was wondering if that troll told you their name." Kona hesitated and stroked her chin, trying to remember.

"Let me think, I'm getting old now so I don't remember things so quickly these days," Kona chuckled, she didn't talk for a little bit, "she did tell me her name, but I can't quite lay my finger on it."

"Perhaps you could remember what her name began with, or think of something that her name is related to," Poppy advised. Kona thought for a moment.

"She had a nice name, it was something like...Isla?...no, that doesn't sound right. I think it began with an 'i'," Kona said. Branch's eyes were wide.

"Iris?" Branch asked quickly.

"Iris! That was it!" Kona exclaimed. Branch couldn't believe it, it was his sister. She was alive! Kona looked concerned at Branch, "is he alright?"

"That troll is his sister," Poppy explained, "they've been separated for years."

"Do you remember where you found her?" Branch asked.

"She was at the training academy in Starlit Orchard, over by the second cliff," Kona replied, pointing to the cliff.

"I have to find her!" said Branch, "I'll gather some recourses from my bunker and I'll go there in the morning," he started to run away, but he was stopped by Tekai.

"Branch, you can't go into the deep forest by yourself! How are you not at all concerned about the danger?" Tekai stopped him, "need I remind you that Clay is expecting you to ride on Spirit around the lagoon to set her free, we can't have you running off!" Tekai yelled.

"Tekai, have you even thought about how we're going to find Spirit's pod? Or any sea lykar pod for that matter?" Branch asked, Tekai was speechless, "Starlit Orchard is right next to the coast, you could see lykars passing through there. Plus, Iris knew everything about lykar pods and habitats, if anyone can help, it's her." Branch tried to run again but Tekai grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back, she pulled him and sat him down hard on a rock. "Ow!" Branch barked, rubbing his butt. Branch calmed down and sighed, he knew that he couldn't leave Spirit, she needed him. But how would they be able to find Spirit's family? Kona knelt down in front of Branch and gently placed a hand on his cheek.

"You really miss her don't you child?" Kona spoke softly, Branch tried his best to hold back his tears, but they started streaming down his cheeks, Kona wrapped her arm around Branch and brought him in for a hug. Tekai bit her lip, she felt guilty for yelling at Branch and making him upset; after all, he only wants to have his sister back, she started to find out the truth. Branch didn't have parents and his sister was all he had left. Tekai herself felt sympathy for Branch as she also knows what it's like to be alone. She put her hand on his back.

"I'll take care of Spirit and the other lykar while you're gone," Tekai stated. A smile started to spread across Branch's face.

"Thanks Tekai," Branch knew Tekai wasn't a hugger so he just patted her on the shoulder, "I owe you one." Tekai lifted an eyebrow and gave him the 'you owe me way more than one' look.

"There's only one more thing," Poppy chimed in, "I'm going with you, Branch." Poppy and Branch on a journey together, this was the trip to bergen town all over again!