Chapter Text
Poppy opened her eyes. A familiar feeling of butterflies entered her stomach as she saw tiny specks of dust dancing around in nature’s spotlight. The unmistakable smell of azaleas filled her pod. Spring was finally here.
Her feet touched down to meet the soft carpet beside her bed. She breathed in the other wonderful smells of the new season – lenten roses, camellias, and dew. A smile formed on her face as she twirled around her room, swatting the dust and mimicking its frazzled and uncoordinated movements.
Uncoordinated – the code of life Poppy usually followed. Apart from the scheduled Hug Times, she enjoyed that almost every part of her day was unplanned; spontaneous; spur-of-the-moment. Even if she was supposed to maintain the flawless image of a princess, she couldn’t stop herself from joining any and every musical number within a hundred-foot radius. Her heart longed for the sheer thrill and anticipation of what was going to happen next. This was exactly the way she intended to rule the village when she became queen.
The door to her pod swung open and off she went, spitting out the ‘good-mornings’ that had been sitting on her tongue ever since the day began.
“Morning, everyone! Morning, DJ! Morning, Guy Diamond! Morning, Fuzzbert – up top! Good morning, Satin & Chenille! Morning, Smidge! Morning, Biggie! Oh – and you too, Mr. Dinkles.”
Mr. Dinkles returned her greeting with a ‘mew’ and the strange pair walked off. Poppy chuckled and continued aimlessly running around the village while she got in her first song of the morning. The hundreds of trolls who were also starting their mornings off with song began with a chorus.
♫ (Sunshine, sunshine, raining sunshine!) ♫
♫ When you think all hope is gone
There’s a place somewhere beyond
Take a chance and realize
It’s right before your very eyes ♫
♫ Leave the dark clouds far behind
And step outside… the weather’s fine! ♫
Poppy ran faster and jumped off a large hill, using her hair to swing from a vine above her. She landed with a perfect dismount in the center of the village, dancing with the rest of the trolls around her.
♫ It’s raining sunshine!
It’s raining sunshine!
All over mankind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
♫ As real as it can be
Believe in what you see!
It’s not just in your mind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
The trolls around her continued to laugh and dance around when a booming voice cut through the high decibel of celebration.
“Why, I’d recognize that wonderful voice anywhere!”
The trolls noticed the arrival of King Peppy and cheered for him, making a path for him to walk through. Poppy quickly turned around and gasped.
“Dad!”
“There’s my Pop-star!” He stifled a grunt as Poppy launched herself around him with a warm embrace.
Like his daughter, King Peppy was energetic and radiated with positivity. However, he had a strong determination to keep Troll Village protected. He often wondered if things would change once Poppy took the responsibility of the crown. He adored her constant optimistic state of mind, but she lacked the experience he gained from the trauma he had endured during his reign. The village hadn’t received a threat in twenty years – but he knew Poppy was nowhere near ready to step up and defend her people if, or when, the time came. And like her, the only skills the villagers possessed were singing, dancing, and hugging. Even so, this would never stop him from passing on his crown to his daughter.
“Good morning, Dad!”
“Isn’t it?” Peppy brought an arm up to his forehead to wipe off some sweat. “This weather is just lovely! The village hasn’t been this bright in months!”
Poppy giddily hopped in place, squealing with joy. “I know, right? It’s like – I almost forgot what spring feels like. I didn’t even think that was possible. Kinda scared me a little, y’know??”
Peppy smiled and rolled his eyes at his babbling daughter. “While we did manage to survive another winter, I am looking forward to some relaxation.”
“ And lots and lots of fun!” Poppy pumped her fists above her head as she jumped up, running back to the group to join them for the next verse.
♫ (Sunshine, sunshine, raining sunshine!) ♫
♫ Something’s in the atmosphere
Don’t be scared of what you fear
Look around, the storm has passed
Just hurricanes of happiness ♫
Even if everyone was too immersed in song to notice, a troll much less saturated than the rest could be seen walking through the woods nearby. He winced as the volume of the village nearby increased significantly. His eyes fell upon the princess, who was painted head to toe with a shade of pink that outshone the rest.
♫ Raise up your umbrellas high
And stand beneath the clear blue sky! ♫
♫ It’s raining sunshine!
It’s raining sunshine!
All over mankind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
♫ As real as it can be
Believe in what you see!
It’s not just in your mind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
As the trolls continued onto the bridge of the song, the worried state of the significantly gray troll nearby began to intensify. They just kept getting louder – he debated on whether he should make a run for it or try to stop them and deal with the amount of ridicule he would undoubtedly receive for it.
♫ Too many wonders to explain
Rays of sun like drops of rain
Pouring down from up above
Cloudy with a chance of love ♫
♫ Can’t you feel it in the air?
Sweet sensations everywhere
Whatever weather is in store
Bring it on, ‘cause I want more! ♫
♫ (Sunshine, sunshine, raining sunshine!) ♫
The village continued singing and dancing around Poppy when her eyes caught a figure hiding behind a bush not too far from the crowd. She tilted her head and started to walk closer, hoping it was who she thought it was.
♫ (Sunshine, sunshine, raining sunshine!) ♫
The gray troll, realizing he’d been spotted, made a fight-or-flight decision and ran for it. Poppy sighed and shrugged it off, knowing he’d be back some other time. She turned back to the crowd and finished the song with them.
♫ It’s raining sunshine!
It’s raining sunshine!
All over mankind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
♫ As real as it can be
Believe in what you see!
It’s not just in your mind
It’s raining sunshine! ♫
The musical number ended with Poppy sliding across the grass on one knee with her arms stretched outward while the rest of the group posed behind her. They immediately fell into a state of cheering and whooping, celebrating their first song of the spring season (wow, that’s a lot of 's' sounds).
“Great stuff, guys! Yeah! Woo! Alright, let’s meet back here for brunch! ” As Poppy caught her breath, she turned toward the bush far behind her and studied it, wondering if that troll was back. Not being able to see very far, she narrowed her eyes and began making her way toward it, only to be stopped by another familiar voice.
“Beautiful pipes as always, Poppy!”
Poppy did a 180 and her eyes fell on a handsome purple troll. She gasped with excitement. “Creek!” She hopped over to him and placed her hands in his vacant ones. “Good morning!”
“G’morning, love.” His words caused Poppy’s stomach to jump. Even if she assumed the nickname ‘love’ was just part of his general vocabulary that he used on everyone, she felt especially flattered when he used it on her. “It’s a beautiful one, wouldn’t you say?” He slightly tightened his fingers around her hands, giving her a warm smile.
A faint blush spotted Poppy’s cheeks as she let out a nervous laugh. “It sure is! I’m so glad spring is finally here! It feels like it’s been forever! Ooh, we could have picnics, pool parties, go camping, and stargazing!” She looked up toward the sky and placed her hands on her cheeks in pure wonder. Creek brought her back to reality with a light chuckle as he gently took her hands back in his.
“That sounds just wonderful. I can’t wait to spend more time with you, Poppy. When I’m around you, our energies seem to mold together so perfectly. That’s a very rare thing to come by.”
Having no idea what he was talking about, Poppy turned her attention to the bushes once more as Creek rambled on about chakras and auras. Her peripheral vision caught a dark figure making its way through the woods, away from Troll Village. As she squinted to get a better look, she quickly realized she had been tuning out the troll in front of her. She had to move fast or she would never catch up with her runaway friend.
“I’d be happy to teach you more about it sometime. We could meet up at my place-”
“Sure, that sounds great. Really looking forward to it – churros? My jam! Seriously! I’ll- I’ll catch up with you later! Okay, bye!” Poppy gestured frantically with finger-guns and thumbs-ups as she walked backwards toward the woods. A flash of pink and she was gone, leaving Creek totally confused. He cupped his hands around his mouth, hoping she would hear him. “I-It’s pronounced ‘chakras’!”
Upon entering the woods, Poppy tried her best to appreciate how beautiful it looked under the spring sunlight while rushing to catch up with-
Crash.
She didn’t realize how fast she was running while also not looking where she was running, causing her to smack right into the back of the gray troll. They both fell to the ground as his makeshift backpack filled with supplies spilled onto the grass. He instinctively grabbed the closest weapon in his reach – a small shovel, unfortunately – and scattered away from his potential murderer. He stood himself up and turned to face her, holding a not-so-threatening tae kwon do pose with the shovel aimed right at her.
“Stay back! You’re messing with the wrong- ” His fearful expression quickly faded into one of annoyance as his body relaxed. “ Oh. It’s you.” He dropped his shovel and turned to pick up the rest of his things.
“Branch!” Poppy shouted with glee as her arms opened up for a hug. Branch quickly put up his defenses once more, blocking her affections. Poppy paid no mind to his obvious rejection but decided to give up on the hug for now. “I knew that was you hiding in the bushes! Are you here to celebrate spring with us?”
“ No. ” Branch gave her a cold look and knelt down to pack up his supplies. “I have more important things on my agenda than to exercise my vocal cords for nine hours straight just because the sun came out.”
“Nine hours? Pfff, I wish! It really only comes to about eight hours if you count all of the Hug Times.”
As if right on cue, Poppy’s Hug Watch sprouted into a bright magenta flower to match her eyes with a subtle ‘ding’.
Panic fell over Branch as he turned his attention back to Poppy, whose smile was much wider now.
“ No, Poppy. It’s not happening.”
A disappointed groan shot out of her. “Ugh, come ON, Branch! One hug won’t kill you!”
“If the hug doesn’t kill me, then this conversation will.” He threw on his backpack and stood up to leave. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m already behind on my schedule and I’m sure you’ve got more songs to ruin.”
Poppy quickly caught up with him as he was already on his way back home. “Wait, wait! What could you possibly have to do today? It’s spring! Kick back a little! Soak up the sun!”
“I don’t have time to ‘kick back’. My bunker is way past due for a cleaning, and an organized bunker is a safe bunker. Not that you’d factor in safety.”
“For the last time, Branch, we’re fine! The Bergens will never find us where we’re hiding!”
“Oh, they’ll find you. All they have to do is follow your annoying voices!” Branch shot her an angered look. “Now, quit following me and go home!”
Poppy stood still and clenched her fists, watching Branch walk off without her. She growled out of frustration and took a moment to process what Branch said. Cleaning? He’s cleaning now?? The weather was just too perfect to be trapped underground all day breathing in nothing but chemicals and soap. But, she figured if any troll were to subject themselves to that kind of torture, it would be Branch.
There was always something odd about the way he lived his life. He hated talking to people, he hated fun, he hated music – Poppy often debated whether he was an alien from another planet, disguising himself as a troll to gather intel on her species. Though she didn’t really believe that, she found it funny to pretend.
Everyone in Troll Village seemed to pretend he didn’t exist. Sometimes his name would come up during sleepovers as a joke or during campfire stories for the scare factor. Although Poppy wanted to laugh along, there was a part of her that knew Branch had to want more than the lonely life he’d been leading for years. Why else would he be so grumpy all the time?
A new thought grew in Poppy’s head that interrupted her pondering. Maybe what Branch needed was some company. She couldn’t stand the thought of him cleaning his entire bunker all by himself, with nobody to sing or dance with to make the process go by quicker. Did he do this every year? How has he not gone crazy by now?
As she watched Branch shrink the farther he walked, a new plan was forming in her brain. Helping out other trolls was her passion – she’d gladly put aside her own relaxation time if it meant she could make someone else happy. Even someone as impossible to reason with as Branch. How hard could it be?