"Trolls just wanna have fu-un. Yeah trolls just wanna have... fuuuunnn!" little Poppy sang, skipping through troll village.

"Hi!" she said, cheerfully, waving at everyone she passed.
"Hello Princess Poppy," everyone greeted back.

"Poppy! Poppy! Poppy!" the snack pack yelled, running over to her.
"Hi, guys!" she said, happily. She loved seeing her friends.

"Wanna play a game!?" Smidge asked, bouncing slightly on her little legs.
"Of course!" Poppy replied. "How about... hid n' seek!?"
"Yeah!" everyone agreed, cheerfully.

"Not it!" everyone but Biggie shouted, placing their fingers on their noses.

"Aw, man..." Biggie pouted. "I'm always it."
"It's ok, Biggie," Poppy said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be it."

Biggie smiled.

"Thanks, Poppy."

"Ok. Everyone hide! I'll count to ten."
"Do any of us know how to count that high?" Guy asked. Everyone shrugged, and then laughed, taking of in different directions to hide, while Poppy covered her eyes, counting.

"1... 2... 9... 6... 4... 8... 3... 5... 7... 10! Ready or not! Here I come!" she laughed, as she ran off to find her friends.

"Hmmm..." she said, looking in bushes, and behind trees.

"I'm gonna find yo..." she paused, hearing a rustling sound behind one of the bushes.

She smiled, getting down to her hands and knees, as she crawled forwards, trying to be sneaky.

The rustling continued, as Poppy crawled closer, and closer.

"He... he.. he..." Poppy chuckled.

"Ha! Ha!" she shouted, jumping up. "Found you!"
"AHHHHH!" little grey Branch screamed, falling over in fear, as he looked up at Poppy, his eyes wide.

Poppy blinked at him, confused.

"Oh... sorry. I thought you were someone else," Poppy said, reaching down her hand to help him up.

Branch looked up at her, shaking slightly, as he breathed heavily.

Poppy's eyes widened, looking down at him.

"Oh... I didn't mean to scare you," Poppy said.
"S... scared? Me? I'm not scared," Branch said, defensively, standing up. He dusted off his overalls, as Poppy stared at him.

"I've never seen you before..." she said. "I know everyone in the village."
"Well... uh... I try not to be seen..." he said, looking away from her. "Obviously I need to do a better job at that..."

"Why are you grey? All the other trolls are bright and colorful."
"Yeah... well... not me," he replied, picking back up the sticks he had dropped, when Poppy scared him.

"Oh... did I make you drop those, when I scared you?" Poppy asked, noticing the sticks.

"You didn't scare me..." Branch said, dryly, continuing to pick up his sticks. "I'm not scared of anything."

He turned, noticing Poppy was gone.

"Uh... Poppy? Where'd you..."
"You know my name?"
"AHHH!" Branch screamed, jumping, as he dropped his sticks again.

He turned, seeing Poppy standing behind him smiling.

"Scared ya again," she laughed.
"You didn't scare me!" Branch yelled, frustrated. "You just... startled me..." He looked away, picking up his sticks again.

"So..." Poppy said, stepping closer to him. "How do you know my name?"

"Psh... everyone knows your name. You are the princess," Branch replied, rolling his eyes.

"You know... you do look kinda familiar."

Branch froze, remembering back to when he still had his colors. His grandma had brought him to King Peppy's pod the day Poppy had hatched. He always thought she and him would be good friends, but after his grandma died... he just wanted to remain alone.

"Nope," he said. "I've never met you before in my life," he lied, beginning to walk away with his sticks.

Poppy smiled, following him.

"Where are you going?" she asked
"I'm collecting sticks," he informed, bending down to pick up another stick. He looked at the stick he had picked up, making sure that it was good, and then put it into his pile.

"Why?" Poppy asked, curious.
"Because," Branch answered, picking up another stick.
"Because why?" Poppy asked.
"Just... because..."

He tried to walk away again, but Poppy just followed him.

"So... you never answered my question," she said, skipping next to him.
"Sure I did. I said 'because'."
"No," Poppy giggled. "Not that question. The other one."

Branch stopped, looking at her confused.

"Why are you grey?" she asked again. Branch looked away, not really wanting to answer the question. He didn't want anyone knowing about what happened to his grandma.

"I... I have to go..." he said, sadly, trying not to cry.

Poppy looked sadly at him, as he began to walk away.

"But... I will see you again... right?"
"If I have any say in the matter... no."

He disappeared into the forest, leaving Poppy behind.

"Hey, Poppy! What gives?" Smidge said, the snack pack suddenly walking towards her. "We've been hiding for so long. You're supposed to be seeking us."
"Oh... sorry guys... I... I just got a little distracted."

Her friends noticed the sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Biggie asked.
"I... I just meet a new troll," she said. "But he was grey."
"A grey troll?" Guy said. "You mean silver, like me?"

Poppy shook her head.

"No. He wasn't a glitter troll. And he was grey. Like... grey, grey."

"I've never heard of a grey troll," Dj said, petting her wooferbug, who she sat on top of.

"Neither have I. Maybe my dad will know." She smiled at the idea of asking her dad, sure he would give her the answers she was searching for.

"I'll see you guys later, ok?" Poppy said, as she ran off towards her pod.