Branch walked out of his bunker, towards the lagoon, carrying a backpack full of essentials that he and Poppy would need on their way to Starlit Orchard. He thought to himself, was this really a good idea? The snatchers could be coming to the lagoon any day now. His test with Clay was in a week and he had to be ready. Branch thought again, if the Snatchers were coming to take Spirit away, then he would need to get Spirit out of the lagoon and find her pod as soon as possible. If he were to look for Iris after the test, it would be too late. Iris was also the only one who could find Spirit's pod, she knew a lot about sea lykar habitats and particular sea lykar pods. But did he want to find Iris for that reason, or did he just want his sister back? To have a family again?

Branch reached the lagoon and saw Spirit playing with her lykar friend, chasing each other around the lagoon. He climbed up on the lagoon edge, Spirit soon noticed him and swam over, with the other lykar following behind. Spirit rested her head on the rock, looking into Branch's eyes. Branch sighed and patted Spirit's snout, he noticed the other lykar beside her and reached his hand out to pet him, but he wasn't too sure and backed away. "It's okay," Branch said softly, the lykar slowly approached the blue troll and pressed his nose against Branch's hand, "you're a big guy, aren't you."

Branch stroked Spirit's head and scratched her behind the ears, he looked at her sadly. Spirit noticed Branch's sad expression and nudged his foot with her nose.

"You'll be free in a week," Branch smiled, but soon turned to a frown, "I'm really going to miss you," Branch sulked and sighed. Spirit hated seeing Branch sad, but she had a solution. She dove into the water and peaked her head and her back above the surface. "You want a back scratch?" Branch chuckled, he reached out his hand and scratched Spirit's back, she began to swim down the side of the lagoon, Branch was so focused on scratching Spirit that he didn't notice her dorsal fin, about to hit him. Spirit's fin knocked Branch clean off the rock and into the water. He swam back up to the surface and coughed. Spirit raised her head in front of Branch, he stroked her head and whispered in her ear, "I'm going to be gone for a few days, girl," Branch said, Spirit's big blue eye looked into Branch's, "I'll come back, I promise." He swam back to the edge and climbed onto the rock, picked up his backpack and waited for Poppy by the shore.

"Hey Branch!" A familiar voice caught Branch's ears, it was Poppy; she also had a backpack, "you ready to go?" she asked the blue troll.

"You know, you don't have to do this," Branch spoke, "I'm a survivalist, I can do this by myself. Besides, I don't want anything to happen to you." Poppy smiled at him.

"But if anything were to happen to you, who will have your back?" Poppy asked him, a smile started to tug on the corners of Branch's mouth. The two were interrupted by a familiar tan-colored troll.

"And if you were to die a slow, horrible death in the forest one your own, then how would we know?" Tekai came in and said sarcastically.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Branch laughed.

"You guys better get out of here before Clay finds out, but remember, I can't cover for you guys too long, so be back as soon as possible," Tekai stated, "don't worry about Spirit, she'll be fine."

"Thanks kid," Branch smiled.

"Just don't die, okay?" Tekai laughed as the two trolls walked up the shore and into the forest.

Poppy and Branch made their way into the deep woods, past the music troll village, bergen town, it felt like they travelled for hours, but there was still a long journey ahead.

"How long have we been walking now?" Poppy panted.

"About 20 minutes," Branch grunted and rolled his eyes, that was the thirteenth time Poppy had asked him that question.

"It feels longer than that, it feels like hours," Poppy whined. Branch stuck his fingers into his ears to try block out her whining, but it failed.

"Curse these big, sensitive ears," Branch mumbled. The two trolls were making good progress, they were covering lots of ground, but they weren't aware that someone was watching their every move.

***

"What do you mean they're coming?!" Creek snapped at the green troll.

"One of our scouts from further in the forest saw the two trolls and said that they are coming towards Starlit Orchard, the plan may not work as well as you think it will," the troll replied. Creek grunted in frustration as he turned away from the green troll, with Branch and Poppy on their way towards him, his plan wouldn't go as according to plan, but his face lifted soon enough.

"No, this could still work. Iris is very close to that blue troll, they're brother and sister, we'll send Iris to the edge of the orchard for her shift. With Branch distracted, our friends over at the aquarium will have more time to investigate the area and find where that lykar is hiding and by the time he and Poppy return, the snatchers will have already done their bit." Creek explained, but the green troll looked doubtful.

"I don't think you realize how things work at this academy. You can just send a scout into the forest without giving them a mission," he told Creek.

"Very well, you leave that with me," Creek smirked, "just tell Iris to come to my hut." The green troll sighed, then nodded, he exited Creek's hut and went to get Iris. When he left, Creek turned to his desk, a large picture of Spirit was on his wall. "I will put you right where you belong, you're going to make me a fortune."

Iris entered Creek's hut with her hood over her head, "what do you want, Creek?" she asked in a stern voice.

"Ah Iris, just the troll I need," Creek smiled, but Iris just glared at him. "I need you to do a job for me, you see there are two large creatures headed right this way,"

"Go on," Iris kept her ears perked up.

"The last thing we want is for them to threaten the nearby villages," Creek started, but Iris stopped him.

"Since when have you ever cared about anyone but yourself? Let alone an entire village? And what kind of creatures are we talking about here?" Iris asked.

"The scouts weren't able to identify the creatures, that's why I need you to be on the watch for them for the next few days."

"Just to clarify, I'm not going to kill these creatures, only relocate them. Got it?" Iris stated. Creek nodded slowly. She started to leave the hut.

"Oh and Iris..." Creek stopped her, Iris turned her head toward him, "I know you won't disappoint me." Iris didn't respond, only continued walking.

***

It was late at night and Branch and Poppy decided to rest for the night in a large hole under a tree trunk. After setting down their sleeping bags, Branch made a campfire in the clearing for him and Poppy to keep warm.

"Have you got any marshmallows?" Poppy called to Branch, as she looked through his backpack.

"No, I don't!" Branch said sternly, Poppy grunted and went to join Branch by the fire.

"So how long until we make it to Starlit Orchard?" Poppy asked, breaking the silence.

"We should hopefully be there by tomorrow," Branch replied, looking at his map, "I'm just worried how we're going to get Iris to come back." Poppy tilted her head, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, it's been 10 years since we've seen each other, there must be a reason why she stayed away from the village for so long," Branch sighed, "what...what if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Branch, Iris will be thrilled to see you," Poppy reassured her friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. She noticed a smile tugging on the corners of Branch's mouth. "Come on, let's see that smile," Poppy said, Branch raised an eyebrow. Poppy started to poke Branch in the ribs, which made him giggle slightly. "Aww you're in for it now! Tickle time!" Poppy started tickling Branch's tummy, causing him to burst out laughing so much that he lost his balance and fell onto his back.

"Poppy! Poppy! Stop it!" Branch tried to say, but failed from all his laughing. Poppy eventually stopped and sat next to Branch.

"Are you alive?" She teased.

"Barely!" Branch panted, still laughing a little. "We should probably be getting to sleep, we've got a long journey in the morning."

Poppy dropped to sleep very quickly. Branch on the other hand couldn't get to sleep at all, he couldn't stop thinking about Iris. What if she stayed away from him on purpose? Would she even want to see him? Branch tried to resist the tears, but felt them start to form in his eyes, he closed his eyes and felt the tears fall down his cheeks. Poppy's ear perked up when she heard a sniff coming from Branch.

"Branch?" She asked softly, he didn't respond. Poppy crawled out her sleeping bag and knelt down by Branch's side. "Are you okay Branch? You're shaking," Poppy placed a hand on Branch's trembling shoulder and kissed his cheek, she heard him sigh shakily. "What's wrong? Is it about Iris?" Branch turned his head to meet Poppy's gaze, he had visible tear stains down his cheeks. He didn't say a word but Poppy could tell that he was upset about Iris and without hesitation, she wrapped both arms around him and gave him a hug, she stroked him down his back, along his backside and gently down the length of his tail. "Branch," she said, tenderly, "Iris will be so happy to see you, I just know it." Poppy moved her hand from the base of Branch's tail to the back of his head, slowly stroking it up and down. Poppy could feel the weight of Branch's head on her shoulder, he was starting to fall asleep. She gently moved his head back onto the ground and covered his body with the blanket. She watched his eyes slowly close as he drifted off to sleep.

The sun rose over the horizon and broke through the trees around the forest, Branch was still half asleep, he opened his eye, but soon closed it again when he noticed how bright the sun was, he sighed in relief as he nuzzled his head into the sleeping bag. Everything was so calm and peaceful in the forest.

Until.

"MORNING!" Poppy exclaimed, Branch screamed as he jumped in surprise.

"Poppy, it's so early," Branch groaned, "ten more minutes." He pulled the blanket over his head.

"Come on sleepyhead, like you said, we're hoping to get there by today," Poppy persuaded, she saw that there was no sign of Branch getting up, so she started to tug on his tail, Branch just tried to ignore it but Poppy started pulling harder and harder until she dragged him fully out of his sleeping bag, "come on!" Poppy said into Branch's ear. Branch had had enough.

"If I get up, will you please be quiet?" Branch grunted.

"Probably," Poppy said with a huge grin on her face. With a sigh, Branch sat up and got to his feet. The two trolls packed everything up and set off.

They soon came across a shallow stream, this was the perfect opportunity for Branch to refill the water bottle in his backpack, since Poppy drank all the water inside it. He knelt down by the flowing stream and stuck the bottle in the water, he looked up to find Poppy stepping on the rocks in the stream to get across. "Come on Branch!" She called out to him, "it's perfectly safe!" Branch tightened the lid on his water bottle, stuffed it back in his bag and walked over to join Poppy, he was careful about the steps he took, trying not to fall into the water. He was about half way across, he looked up and saw that Poppy was already on the other side, he looked back down and saw that the next step was pretty far. He took a deep breath and jumped from the rock he was on, he almost made it, but his foot slipped slightly causing him to fall and he grunted as he landed butt-first into the shallow stream. Poppy couldn't help but snicker, she then ran over to help Branch up. "Are you okay?" Poppy asked him, Branch just rolled his eyes and nodded as he walked over back to the grass with her. He reached into his backpack and checked that the map was intact, luckily it was, a few drops of water on it but still readable. Branch's shorts however were drenched, so was his tail.

"Oh well, just have to deal with it," Branch sighed.

"You're not hurt are you, though?" Poppy asked, still giggling slightly.

"I'll be fine, it'll probably just leave a small bruise."

Hours passed by and the two trolls were feeling tired. Their feet were sore and their heads were aching, luckily Branch was a lot more dry. "Come on, let's just sit and take a break," Branch said as he sat down on the grass with his back against a tree, Poppy lay down beside him with her head on his lap.

"How far away are we from Starlit Orchard?" Poppy asked. Branch pulled out the map from his backpack, he stared at it for a minute trying to work out where they were.

"By the looks of it we shouldn't be far," Branch replied. He observed his surroundings again. "Actually, we should be pretty close."

"Thank goodness," Poppy sighed in relief. Suddenly Branch's ear started twitching, he kept silent and looked around. "what is it?" Poppy asked, Branch stood up looking around the clearing, perking up both his ears, he could hear something.

"We're not alone," Branch whispered. Whatever it was, it was close by. Branch was so distracted with the sound that he didn't notice his tail was close to a bear trap. It snapped closed with a loud clank, narrowly missing Branch's tail. Branch jumped and tripped over a rope, before he could react a net landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Branch!" Poppy cried, running toward the blue troll.

"Poppy, you have to get out of here!" Branch called back, "save yourself!" Poppy didn't listen, she ran to Branch who was struggling, trying to untangle himself from the net. Suddenly an arrow came out of nowhere, it passed Poppy's face and got stuck in the trunk of a tree. The two trolls turned to where the arrow came from and saw a hooded figure standing in the distance on the other side of the clearing, bow in one hand, arrow in the other. It's face wasn't visible, but it appeared to be the same height as them. Branch struggled and pulled at the net, trying to free himself. "We have to get out of here!" With one more tug from Poppy, the net untangled and Branch was free and without hesitation, they ran away, only to be stopped by another arrow fired by the figure. This time it landed just by Branch's feet, causing the two trolls to stumble over. The figure was running toward them with a loud yell. Before it could come any closer, Branch whipped his hair at it trying to knock it away, but it just dodged the hits. "Run Poppy!" Branch yelled, then he shielded her from the creature and pushed into it, knocking it on to its back and pinning it down. "Leave us alone!" Branch yelled through gritted teeth, trying to fight back the creature who was attempting to punch him. Branch used his hair against the creatures bow and arrows, but it flipped over on top of Branch and pinned him down, trying to stab him with the arrow, with all his might he kicked it in the stomach, then tried to crawl away but the creature grabbed hold of his tail in its hand and pulled him in. Branch yelped and he pulled as hard as he could to escape its grip, he was pulling so hard that he felt the straining pain in his tail. His tail slipped out of the creature's fist and used it to slap the creature in the face. The force of it knocked the creature's hood down, revealing long blue hair that stuck up.

"Branch, it's a troll!" Poppy pointed out. Poppy was right, this creature was a troll, but what was it doing out here and why did it attack them? The troll held its hand against its face where Branch tail-slapped it. Most of its face was covered by a brown bandana-like mask, only its face from the nose up was visible. Poppy and Branch approached it carefully.

"Are you okay?" Branch asked cautiously, the troll just glared at him, "sorry for tail slapping you. Do you need any help?" he offered his hand to the troll.

"Why would I need your help?" The trolls snapped, slapping Branch's hand away, judging by its voice it was a girl. "Just leave me alone."

"But we just want to help you," Poppy said, "no troll left behind."

"I told you, I don't need your help!" The troll angrily said. She paused, staring at Branch with wide, dark blue eyes. Branch stared back, confused. The troll tilted her head slightly and slowly approached the blue troll. She gasped softly, dropping her weapon. "I-I can't believe it." Branch stepped back, puzzled by the troll's words.

"What?" He asked, confused. The troll pulled her mask away from her face and smiled slightly. She had purple skin and dark blue hair that faded to light blue on the tips. Branch's eyes went wide as he stepped closer to the troll. "I-Iris?" Branch said softly, the troll smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. Tears formed in his blue eyes as a smile spread across his face. Iris wrapped her arms around Branch, hugging him close. Branch returned the hug and started to sob softly. "I-I thought I'd never see you again." Branch stuttered.

"I know Buddy, me too." Iris started crying with happiness. "I'm here now, I've got you." The two trolls tightened the hug, sobbing into each other's shoulders.

"I can't believe it, I actually found you." Branch whispered as tears streamed down his cheeks.