To watch a Troll

The Future

Branch only rolled his eyes as the yellow troll in front of him continued yelling.

Yes, he'd admit that he did give the troll the middle finger, but with how annoying they were being, how did they expect him not to?

Yes, Grandma Rosie always told him to be nice, but did he have to be nice when no one else was? Yes, Poppy was nice, but who's to say that she wouldn't leave him once he became friends with her?

He learned at an early age that the world is not all sunshine and rainbows, no matter how much the other trolls tried to make it seem like it.

The Bergens still wanted to eat them, the weather wasn't always on their side, and the grass was green.

Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it. All you have to do is be prepared to face it. And that's what he is. That's what he has to be. He can't be caught off guard, so he had to hone his senses.

If he could hear their music a mile away from their village, surely the chef looking for them could too.

It didn't matter that they called him a party pooper.

It didn't matter that they didn't like him.

As long as he could protect himself from any danger, then it didn't matter.

As long as no Bergens found him, he could be fine with it.

No matter how much it stung.

Because he's Branch, the village grump.

That's all he'd be known by.

And he'd be okay with it, as long as everyone else was safe.

Because no one else should go through what he did.

Soon enough, the screen began loading, getting ready to play, catching everyone's attention as they quieted down, which paused the argument between Branch and the unknown troll, both turning to look at the screen before the other troll glared at him, flipping their hair as they turned to walk away from him, making Branch roll his eyes, turning to sit down before resting his head on his fist.

How dramatic.

Then the screen started, showing him slowly clapping, giving a sarcastic smirk as he leaned against a mushroom, shaking his head before slowly getting up as he spoke.

"Unbelievable guys, really. Really great, good job." He said, securing the twigs as he pointed at them, walking up slowly.

"I could hear you from a mile away!" He yelled, pointing to the forest behind them with an angry face, some trolls rolling their eyes and walking away, the Snack Pack only smiling as Poppy spoke with Branch.

"Good, I was worried we weren't projecting enough," Poppy said in a breathy tone, hopping off of Cooper with a smile, and looking at Branch happily, before turning to look at her friends.

"A mile away? I mean, I get not wanting to harsh the vibe, but wouldn't it be wise not to want to catch the attention of a Bergen?" A dark blue troll asked, making some trolls notice his fins and how he was floating, though Branch only sighed in relief, not even bothering to look at who said it.

"See?! Someone gets it!" He said to himself, shaking his hands in front of him slightly, eyes closed, before looking back at the screen.

"Poppy, if I can hear you, so can the Bergens," Branch said blandly, looking at Poppy at her with furrowed eyebrows, whispering at the end.

"Oh boy," Guy Diamond said with a smile, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Here we go again," Cooper followed, rolling his eyes tiredly as he shook his head.