The rain fell on the forest, the moon hidden by the gray clouds, thunder roared, hiding the tears of an abandoned young child.

He was alone, no one could take care of him. His silent sobs were practically silent to the other trolls who even went so far as to ignore his existence.

This was until the moment when an elderly troll, very different from the others, bent down awkwardly, leaning on his cane, to see the small form hiding under a pitiful-looking mushroom, trying to shelter from the storm. Shocked, the old man widened his eyes, the child raised his blue eyes toward him, the two individuals, yet so different but similar, stared at each other with curiosity, awe even.

- But what are you doing there? Where are your parents? The older one spoke to him.

The young troll looked down, sobbing more loudly.

- T-They gone ...

The old troll then reached out to his young friend.

<< ~ × ~ >>

And they were back the day after, like they had promised to themselves last night.

Running between the tall, majestic spring trees of the Trolls' Forest, Poppy hurried to Branch's bunker, short of breath with a big smile on her face... She wasn't going to give up, she wanted to help him, and that's what she was going to do, no matter how long it took her; Branch would come out of his shell !

With a jumping step, the young woman finally arrived at her desired destination; that huge rock, surrounded by lanterns installed to illuminate the area at night, stood strong and proud in the middle of a calm clearing. The grass here was surprisingly very well maintained, dotted with small clover looking just as relaxed... No chance for a bird to find a single delicious seed, it was like it was being comb through it every day to clean the lawn, green and resplendent. Despite the gray troll's sad mood, Poppy generally felt good when she arrived in front of his house... It was one of the few places where we took the time to appreciate the calm of the nature.

The pink troll stared at the carpet where Branch had written in capital letters "GO AWAY"... After a big, trembling breath, she silently approached the bunker... Poppy knocked softly against the cold, fuzzy stone, and hoping that he was there, listening to her words, she spoke;

- Hey Branch...?

What she didn't know was that the silence troll was right under her, in the room separating the shelter from the outside, sitting in a corner, hesitating... hesitating to open that damn trap that locked him in his misery, far from the help he needed. Drawing marks in the rock with a piece of wood, Branch remained silent, listening carefully to the voice of the one he missed terribly.

His right ear twitched again to the sound of the princess's voice;

- I-I know that... I'm not really a troll you'd like to talk to right now after what happen... But... I just wanted to tell you that.. That..

What exactly did she want to tell him?? She remained incredibly silent for quite a while... Branch even thought that she had gone back to the village of Trollstopia, far from him, but just after her voice came back, rocking his sensitive hearing;

-... I know you're scared.

At these words, the poor male troll bit his lower lip... Hearing it from someone else's mouth made him realize it as if it had been written on a two-ton brick and thrown in the face. His heart squeezed with shame... He Branch, he was afraid... He was completely terrified, and Poppy saw it... All she saw was probably the most fearful troll of all hiding in a hole.

-... But...

The princess's voice came out of his thoughts;

- I also know that.. You're brave Branch, and I want you to know that... When you're ready I'll be there for you, I want to help you Branch, I really want to help you but I can't do anything if you refuse to let someone help you... Just... Raise your head a little higher, it's pretty simple, isn't it? You can do that, right?

The gray troll's blue eyes stared at the ground.

- For me?...

Silence settled again in the clearing, Poppy looked sadly at the inscriptions, then with a painful sigh, walked away...

... Until she heard the sound of an elevator activating from the bunker.

The princess's ears suddenly raised up, her eyes sparkling with joy, widened with surprise and a smile on her face as she turned around to see him; He was there, apparently holding his breath with a grumpy face, part of his character. Poppy let out a squeal of joy, hopping on the spot, close to jumping into his arms and pin him on the ground to suffocate him with endless hugs... But the expression of the gray troll suddenly changed; his face tensed in pain... He was... He was choking !!

- Branch?? Branch are you- Poppy was going to come closer and make sure he was okay.

-... Oh fuck this! Just wait a s-second, Branch stopped fighting, and began to sing a tune.

Poppy raised an eyebrow; and understood what was happening... A song, he was going to sing once again !

Lips trembling with disgust and a look bored and embarrassed by the situation, Branch began to walk around her to the rhythm of the melody, she looked at him, slightly amused by the situation...

It wasn't anything mean, she was just very happy that he finally got out of his house, Branch knew that, and so just decided to let the song come out with silent anger at himself... But he didn't expected another love song;

... I was sleeping and right in the middle of a good dream!

Like all at once I wake up!

from something that keeps knocking at my brain!

Before I go insane I hold my pillow to my head...

And spring up in my bed screaming out the words I dread...

- Mind telling me what those words are ? Poppy teased him, not knowing what was coming next.

Branch gave her a 'I hate you so much' look, before the song said otherwise;

I think I love you !!!

Branch just literally throw himself on his knees in front of the princess, putting his hands on his mouth a few seconds, she blushed furiously, but before she could say anything, giggling at him, he got up and started to dance around again;

This morning I woke up with this feeling

I didn't know how to deal with

and so I just decided to myself...

I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it...

And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room...

I think I love you!!

Poppy couldn't help but giggle loudly this time... Branch just looked so pissed off and that was kind of funny to her. He came toward her, grabbing her hands and spinned her around with an annoyed look at her, she danced with him, trying to make him laugh as well, but he wasn't amused... He was forced to sing, she knew that, that poor boy...

.. I think I love you so what am I so afraid of ?

I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for...!

I think I love you!!

Isn't that what life is made of?

Though it worries me to say...

... that I never felt this way !!

As the song ended, Branch regained control of his body. He was kneeling in front of her again, and was trying catch his breath as he coughed violently;

- So, you gonna tell me since when you're singing too now? Poppy gently told him, reaching out for his hand and help him get up once he was done coughing.

- Not... A word!... Branch got angry, frowning, she laughed softly, calming his unpleasant mood slightly.

<< ~ × ~ >>

The wild river was making a deafening din, and it was a miracle for the two trolls to be able to hear the sound of their own voices and thoughts above it.

Branch had installed his engineering equipment necessary for the construction of a barage right next to the point where the water flowed lower, between two large walls of stone and earth rising to form a cliff.. As the leaders had asked him, he also had to ensure a safe place to bathe. With three nails in the corner of his lips, he tried to draw a shema that only he could understand on large blueprint rollers extending on an outdoor workbench... But the task was already quite complicated when you didn't have to think about adding a playground !

Poppy watched him work, sitting comfortably on a handmade lounge chair by the gray troll's material, not far from what he called 'the safe zone'. For another troll, all this tools stuff might seem like a real annoyance, but for the silence troll, it was a real gold mine, the place where he felt most confident with himself. Poppy knew that when he was building something to help Trollstopia, he was much more confident with a troll trying to approach him, as if holding a hammer or a screwdriver was a stress ball... So the perfect time to discuss with him.

At this moment, Branch had let go of his white pencil on the felt floor by accident. He bent down to pick it up, but hit the back of his huge head against the table where he worked;

- GODDAMN THIS STUPID ASS COCONUT !! Branch cursed out loud at the pain.

Poppy laughed, and came to take the pencil for him, passing him ice to place against his head that he had in his briefcase of first care. The grumpy troll threw the ice away with a growl before throwing the briefcase further into the grass, far from them instead of storing it in his hair as he always did...

And believe me, he was going to regret it.

- I don't need it, I'm fine, Branch growled, rubbing the back of his head.

Poppy raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, sitting on a small chair to watch him work on the important construction... and try to talk to him at the same time;

- Hmm... Is it the barage? Looks pretty awesome! Poppy exclaimed, pointing to a piece of paper he was writing on, before taking it from him to observe it from different angles that made no sense.

- No, these are the dimmensions of the cliff, Branch corrected her, taking the paper from her soft hands without any hesitation, and I need it to make sure that the wall does not fall on your head -

Poppy nervously gulped... Falling on her head?? How many tons and litters of water would be throw in Trollstopia if this barage did not resisted and gave way?? Branch noticed her expression and rolled his eyes with a long sigh;

- Poppy, I promise you that the barage will not just break like that, it was sarcasm. I know what I'm doing, okay ?

Poppy nodded nervously to approve his words, and his friend went back to work... She noticed that he did the same calculation twice each time to make sure he wasn't wrong, which reassured her slightly.

Lost in thought, Branch calculated the number of liters that the barage should hold in and filter at the minute... But he always lost his focus and had to start again; he was still thinking about his recurring problem, his songs that refused to stop... Luckily Poppy was not afraid and came back to offer her help... But he wasn't really sure himself what was going on, how to get help when you didn't know what the problem was in the first place?

- Hey Branch?

Poppy was literally leaning over his work table, playing distractedly with a certain broken antenna. Branch bit his lip, nervous;

- What's the matter, Princess? He growled, distracted by a complicated calculation.

He grabbed a ruler and began to trace one of the walls of the barage on his blueprints. He could see out of the corner of his eye the pretty pink troll resting the antenna back on the wooden surface to lean towards him and watch him work more closely, practically lying on his table;

- Those songs... You don't really want to sing them, am I wrong?

Branch sighed, erasing a line misplaced to the nearest centimeter;

- No, he growled before starting the drawing again.

Poppy was starting to get answers, at least something positive.

- Why don't you want to sing them? Isn't that great? I mean... You didn't know how to sing and suddenly you have a great voice! Why don't you like it?

Branch widened his eyes, looking at her with a completely speechless expression.

- You just assumed that I didn't know how to sing ? He was astonished, resting the ruler on the table.

The princess of pop trolls was nervously playing with a lock of hair, uncomfortable;

- I uh... I've always been told that you're a silence troll and that silence trolls don't know how to sing unless they're really happy... She whispered, feeling completely silly at the shocked look of her opposite.

Branch growled, he grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled words and other complicated calculations before grabbing a tape measure and heading towards the edge of the cliff. Poppy followed him without hesitation, forgetting to stay in the safe zone.

Branch knelt at a resonable distance from the cliff and began to measure the area with no fear. Poppy came to join him with a jumping step and much less cautious;

- I'm sorry! She squeaked awkwardly, I just thought that..

- I'm a pop troll, he growled before she could finish her sentence, not a silence troll or whatever that shit is... All that the village tells you are lies, rumors and crap, he growled, insulted, the trolls of silence do not even exist... It's just the more nice way to talk about a gray troll... A gray troll is a troll with scars Poppy, and that's fucking it.

Branch remained silent for a moment, before speaking again;

- I'm the only one you'll find around here.

He hung his measuring tape against a rock and began to pull to measure to another point. Poppy followed him awkwardly;

- That doesn't answer my question... She tried to get the conversation started again, why don't you like to sing? Singing is relaxing! When you sing, you express yourself! Isn't that great?

Branch frowned, avoiding her hopeful gaze, staring instead at her pink feet that quietly walked on the felt grass;

- I don't fucking sing, and that's it.

- It's not an answer... Poppy whispered.

Branch growled in frustration, and placed the end of his tape measure on the ground... 4.6 m, he noted it on his piece of paper with his hair holding his pencil. Poppy put his foot on the tape before he could escape;

- I'm still trying to understand Branch... I want to help you, but you don't talk to me...

He bit his tongue, looking like he was about to say something, but then just walked away to the table where he was working to cut a first, large plank of wood... Poppy sighed, and went to sit down... On the edge of the cliff, far from her safe chair.

At first, Branch had not noticed the danger, and furiously continued to saw his piece of wood... Poppy? She was watching the river flow in front of her with a certain fascination... This current was extremely strong, hitting the rocks with so much force that even a few pebbles were swept away with the rapids... All this fury was thought by the pink troll like a torrent of emotions. Poppy imagined it as a rainbow of sparkling blue colors and took out a scrapbooking album to immortalize this moment from her hair, and then maybe offer it to Branch... Maybe he'd like it this time, who knows?

She wanted to help him so much, she wanted so much to see that smile again... Why did he refused to let her share her happiness with him? How do you explain to him that she wanted him to feel the same way she did when she saw him smiling??

She wanted Branch to see what she was seeing... A troll, yes grumpy, but also brave, intelligent, funny when he wanted to show it, and even adorable and cute, but that... Would she ever be able to tell him? And would he see it too?

And... Would he see so many beautiful things in her too ? Would he have the same need to share his happiness with her one day? Was happiness shared? Because if so, she was willing to share it with Branch without any hesitation.

It was only when Branch finished cutting the wooden plank, and placed it on the ground to cut a second one, that he saw her... Sitting on the edge of the cliff, away from the safe zone, day dreaming.

- POPPY, WHAT THE HELL ! He screamed, panicked.

Anger ran through his voice above the din of the drumming water. Poppy jumped, acidentelly letting go of her tube of glue into the grass, she turned her face towards him, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

- GET YOUR HAIR BACK HERE !! He grounded her, pointing to the chair next to him.

But to this great surprise, Poppy frowned and blew him a raspberry, sticking her tongue out; she sat on the edge of the cliff to complete her work without any worries of danger.

- No! She squeaked, angry that he didn't want to talk to her and let her help him, I do everything to try to help you Branch, and you refuse! Then, I won't talk to you as long as you accept that someone helps you!!

Branch tried to scream in rage, but Poppy hadn't finished...

- Even the Fuzz-odils flowers that I offered you didn't worked !!

Branch just froze on the spot, confused;

- W-What flowers??....

Poppy turned to him, raising an eyebrow, she was obviously confuse...

- Uhhh... Fuzz-odils? repeated, I made you a special cupcake with those as a decoration on top of it but you didn't came to the party, it was few weeks ago...

The whole world had fall on Branch's shoulders...

That cupcake he had eat it.

He had ate that fuzz-odil flower.

And just like she was trying to scare him more, Poppy kept talking;

- It was writed in a scrapbook this type of flower can help a troll reveal their emotions so I thought maybe it could help you to smell one like the book said and...

- I- I ate it...

It was Poppy's turn to realize, and she widened her eyes.

Everything was making sense now... The fuzz-odils he had eat by accident, the cupcake, Poppy trying to help him, the songs, the chocking...

The fuzz-odils flowers had caused this... Poppy had....

- Y-You... You forced me to sing... Branch slowly murmured.

No... no he was getting it all wrong! It was an accident! She didn't meant to force him to sing like that, she thought the flower smell could help him relax and be more open to speak up, he wasn't even suppose eat it in the first place !

- Y-You... YOU MADE ME BREAK MY PROMISE !! The gray troll roared, tears ran down his cheeks.

Shocked, a little bit scared, Poppy hold her scrapbook close to her chest, trying explain herself;

- Wait B-Branch! I didnt thought you would eat it I... AH!

Suddenly, black, strong hair were wrapped around her waist, pulling on her body. She screamed out in fear, trying get away when he pulled her closer to him. What was he going to do?? He wouldn't attack her, was he? Branch wasn't that type of troll, she knew him !!

But she realized he had only pull her away from the river and went to get her scrapbooking material, he throwed it at her like pieces of useless trash Completly blinded by the anger and the pain, he had put himself in danger instead of the pink troll ;

- G-Go away! He sobbed, Go away, leave me alone!!

He throwed her scrapbook at her knees, bending down to take the glue tube, Poppy did not wanted to go away though... She needed to stay, if he was mad at her, she, at least, needed explain herself to the gray troll. He wasn't understanding the whole thing!

- Branch please just listen to me !! Poppy begged him, trying to go back to his sides, and put a hand on his trembling body;

- NO! Go away! He grabbed the glue tube, LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALO-

The earth fell in pieces under his feet.

Poppy let out a scream of fear when she saw him fall in the void, and throw her hair toward the male troll. The action proceeded so quickly that she did not even have time to understand what was happening; she was holding Branch above the river, a few meters from death.

And that's when the earth fell in pieces under her feet as well.

.... Well fuck.