Chapter Text
Branch knew he was a paranoid troll. He'd had more than enough public panic attacks to acknowledge it was a problem. But knowing you have a problem doesn't equate to fixing it, which was his current predicament. He already knew that a strong storm was going to blow in. The weather troll called it, and he and the other trolls could sense it in the air even when there wasn't a cloud in sight. He checked to see if his Bunker openings were secure, checked his walls and floors for maintenance, so the place wouldn't flood, checked his piping, his rations, and finally went on one final patrol to also remove or secure the traps he kept around the forest. Poppy had spotted him and tried to invite him to some party he couldn't remember, and after a back and forth argument, he finally convinced her to leave him alone. He also made sure to remind her to keep the party short because of the approaching storm, but he wasn't sure if she paid attention. 'She could still be out there', a jolt of fear went down Branch's spine as he almost spilled the tea in his cup. A splash of it made it to his fingers holding the cup, and he hissed in pain and put it promptly onto its coaster.
There was no way Poppy was still out there. While singing during a storm was something he could definitely see her doing, she wasn't so reckless as to do it during a particularly bad one at night, right? He imagined what it would be like to see her as she sang during the thunderstorm. Something loud and fun, maybe in time with the thunder. Even though the notion of her out there with a musical number was bizarre enough to make him crack a smile, he still couldn't shake the feeling to go up and check on things. Maybe it was nothing?
Branch groaned in frustration and got off the couch. Clearly, he wasn't going to be able to relax until he checked on things on the surface. He went over to the supplies room to grab a few items and weapons, but on his way to one of his other entrance routes, he saw his goggles on the table. He had recently made a new pair that could make things visible at night, and yesterday a final touch of waterproof sealant around the rims to not have them be damaged in water. 'No time like the present' Branch thought to himself as he grabbed the goggles and put them above his head. He pulled on a leaf poncho, double-checked his supplies, then went through the hatch that led to another part of the forest. This was one of the ones he used when he just wanted to patrol the perimeter, and it took less of a risk of getting found by other trolls. Thankfully, Poppy seemed to only know his default entrance.
The wind howled and rain beat down mercilessly. Branch immediately put the goggles over his eyes and turned them on. He debated whether he should forgo the poncho to truly test the waterproof upgrade, but ultimately decided to keep it on. At the end of the day, he was out in the storm on a hunch. No need to go the extra mile. He checked a couple of traps that he already confirmed were secure with his list when he heard shouts in the distance. He swiveled his head around and his ears flickered to try and catch it. It sounded like a group of trolls. He went down on all fours to run across the forest and kept his ears open for the shouts. As he got closer to where they were, he noticed it was on a cliffside. And it was Poppy's friend group. With no Poppy. He got up and ran to where they were and could hear their cries more distinctly.
"POPPY DON'T MOVE, OKAY!"
"STAY PUT!"
"WE'RE GONNA RESCUE YOU OKAY?"
It sent a jolt of panic in Branch's body, and he ran even faster towards them. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Branch shouted over the raging winds.
The snack pack jolted at the sight of him in his poncho and illuminated goggles. "Oh Branch it's horrible!" Biggie exclaimed "We were trying to pack up when the storm hit and just as we were nearly done a gust took Mr. Dinkel's hat! We went after it and just as Poppy managed to grab it the cliff crumbled under her! There were supplies there too, and now we think she's tangled in them because she's barely moved!"
Dread pooled in Branch's gut, and he moved the snack pack out of the way to get a better view of the situation. With some moving of the goggle's lenses he managed to spot Poppy. She seemed to have her leg caught wrapped around some sort of rope weighed with random misalliances that made it impossible to move.
"What's with the fashion faux pas?" Satin asked her sister as she gestured at Branch. Unfortunately for her Branch had very good hearing.
"Night vision goggles!" Branch responded indignantly. Seriously, did everything have to be a fashion statement?
"Lemme see!" Smidge made a grab for the goggles, but Branch managed to keep her away from his face.
"Hold on!" He shouted as she continued to struggle, "I need to find a route to get down there!"
Smidge stood still for a second then nodded and let Branch back towards the cliff side.
He gave a curt nod and readjusted so he could see the edge and its surroundings. The water was obviously higher with the storm, and it would probably only get higher and more dangerous. He ran against the cliff side and searched for a root that he could secure himself onto to get down there. The more he looked, the more he realized that the fallen party supplies alongside the storm debris had created a dam that made the water rise higher. "Dammit," Branch whispered to himself as he tried to search for anything to help him get down there. If Poppy didn't die from this experience, he was going to give her the lecture of a lifetime when this was all over. Who the hell risked their life over a worm's hat!?
He finally managed to spot a root, but it was a gamble; and he unfortunately needed help. He gave a sharp whistle, "SMIDGE!" she rushed over.
"FOUND SOMETHING?" She shouted over the wind. It had begun to pick up. They didn't have much time.
Branch took his goggles off and handed them to her. "THERE'S A ROOT DOWN THERE THAT I NEED YOU TO TAKE ME TO! ONCE I GET DOWN THERE, I'LL MAKE MY WAY TO POPPY. THEN I'M GOING TO TRY AND CLIMB EITHER BACK TO THE ROOT OR SCALE THE WALL. I NEED YOU TO BE READY TO GRAB BOTH OF US. THE WATER'S RISING FAST!"
"GOT IT!" Smidge responded as she handed his goggles back to him. "TELL POPPY TO LIGHT HER HAIR WHEN YOU'RE READY, OKAY?"
Branch nodded and turned to face her and the snack pack. "WHAT'S HE DOING!?" Creek shrieked as he watched Branch back up towards the cliff.
"WE NEED TO SAVE POPPY! WE'VE GOT THIS!" Smidge responded. She grabbed Branch by the waist with her hair and lowered him down as the rest of her friends held her to be careful of the edge. He made it close to the root, and after he grabbed it, he tugged on Smidge's hair to signal to her to let go. Once she let go, he adjusted to support himself on the root before he wrapped his hair around, and lowered himself down. He had to jump to make it down to the bottom, but while the debris sank briefly, it supported him well enough that he had yet to be swept away. As he tried to inch closer to where Poppy was, he slipped in the water. It wasn't as fast as it was before as the debris began to collect more at the end of the clog, but it still managed to sweep him, and he threw off the poncho so he wouldn't struggle as much.
It was closer to summer than spring, but the water was still shockingly cold for Branch. He swam through the water as his body adjusted to the surprise dip. He fought against the current, but his arm smacked against some wood, which caused him to gasp in pain. There was a dull throb in his arm, but he made a grab for another piece of tree, and he grabbed onto it as it thankfully held and pulled himself up out of the water. Yeah, lecture of a lifetime for Poppy for sure. And her friends. He balanced much more carefully this time, "Poppy!" He called out, and she turned to him in surprise.
"Branch!? What are you doing here!?" She asked in surprise.
"Saving you apparently!" He chastised as he made his way over. The surrounding debris began to sink, but there was enough surrounded around them that kept him from getting washed away again so he begrudgingly fell back into the water, this time thigh deep. "Who the hell risks their life over a stupid hat anyways!?"
"It's not stupid!" Poppy squawked indignantly as Branch got closer. "Mr. Dinkels adores his hat! And how was I supposed to know the cliff was gonna collapse like that!? I wasn't even that close to the edge!" Technically she was very close to the cliff's edge, but the rest of the stuff that fell caught her off guard. She managed to grab at a root to stop her descent but when the supplies crashed onto her as well, her hold on the root was ripped away from her as she fell.
"Why the hell were you even throwing a party by the cliff to begin with! Didn't I tell you there was going to be a storm later!?"
"Can we please save the lecture when we aren't in immediate danger!" Poppy yelled back exasperated. She was already done with this entire day.
As much as Branch would love to release all the stress she's given him onto her, she was unfortunately right. "I'm going to go see what your leg is caught on, okay? Just try not to fall in." He slipped his goggles back over his face, and after he double-checked the night vision was still on, he took a deep breath and went back into the water.
At this point, he had gotten more tolerant of the pre-summer river and carefully made his way down as he pulled out a hunting knife. He saw where the banner was tied to Poppy's foot and swam towards it. She thrashed for a second when he touched her but saw the goggles and tried to relax. Branch still dove back up "I can see where you and the banner are stuck." he announced as he gasped for air. "It's gonna take me a bit to cut though alright?"
"Right! Sorry Branch," Poppy responded with guilt for how she thrashed when he tried to help her.
"It's okay," Branch replied and even held her shoulder. "I'm going to try to get you out of here. But don't move until I give you the all clear, I don't want you getting even more tangled, okay?"
The sincerity in his tone made Poppy choke up. As annoying as Branch could be sometimes, he still risked his own life to rescue here. Since she didn't have any non-soaked scrapbook material available, she settled for a hug. Branch tensed for a moment, but hesitantly wrapped his arms around her until he melted and firmly hugged her back. She wasn't sure if he hugged her back because she was scared or something, but she didn't complain. Not when his hug felt so warm and secure. He pulled away, and Poppy wrapped her arms around herself so she wouldn't chase his. "I'll be back okay?" Poppy nodded and Branched dived back in. Despite the fact she knew that Branch was next to her underwater and could literally feel him nudge her leg, the fear and loneliness she felt beforehand came back, and she clung onto the thought of when Branch hugged her and wrapped her arms around herself even tighter to try and recreate the memory.
Branch for his part dove back in with a new-found determination. He analyzed what parts of the banner were stuck on her leg, alongside some sort of string party decoration. He pulled out his hunting knife and began to tear at the banner. Not like she'd be able to use it anymore anyway. The string ended up being vine which was a bit trickier, but he sawed away at it until it cut. He shot up for air then went back in to cut the other side of things. After some detangling and more cutting he managed to completely free Poppy's leg and urged her to move as he broke for the surface.
"Okay, let's go." Branch coughed as he pulled himself out of the water and turned to pull Poppy up as well. He grabbed her under her arms and pulled her out. They fell on top of each other and the debris sank a bit, but they managed not to get swept away. After he got up again, Branch offered his paw to her and as she took it to get up, but she hissed in pain and collapsed back down to rub at the ankle that was caught.
Branch immediately got down to check on it. Even after a feather-like touch Poppy hissed again in pain and shoved his paw away. When she realized what she did she looked extremely apologetic. "I'm sorry" she apologized, she was thankful the rain hid the fact she had tears that pooled and streamed down her eyes. This day just sucked.
"It's okay," Branch responded as he took a step back. "You might have sprained it during the fall, but I'm not sure. Let's just focus on getting out of here. Is it okay if I carry you?"
Poppy blinked in surprise before she nodded, and with her consent Branch picked her up and swung her on his back piggyback ride style. The motion made Poppy giggle, and she snuggled into him for body heat. "Uh... Smidge said to light your hair up when you're secure." Branch said unsure of how to react to how tightly she clung to him, or how she seemed to nuzzle into his collar. It made his face hot and while a little extra heat could do them both good it was beyond embarrassing.
"Right!" Poppy cheered as she seemed to recover her positive attitude. It was good she let go of the root otherwise she'd be in way too much pain to light her hair up, let alone help Branch. Her leg seriously hurt though. The debris shifted which made Poppy yelp and grip tighter onto Branch who tried to steady himself.
"Okay, we don't have time to look for another root, so I'm going to climb up."
"With what?" Poppy asked in a panicked voice.
Branch took two weapons out that detached into hooks. The entire thing was a little over the length of Branch’s arm, with blades at the end that curved into sharp angles.
"Woah," Poppy said with a small gasp as she watched Branch stick one into the side of the wall and use it to pull his way up. After a few hits, they began to go upward and Poppy clung tighter. She remembered what Branch said about her hair and instantly lit it up so Smidge could see and extend it. If Branch climbed them out, Poppy would help to pull. The urge to talk to take her mind off the fear was strong, but she shoved it down and focused on a hum instead. The sound and the vibrations she made in her skull helped sooth the stress that had built up since her fall.
Branch grit his teeth in irritation as he tried to focus, so the duo wouldn't fall to their doom, but music tended to stress him out. Despite this he didn't tell her to stop. For one thing, he again, was a bit preoccupied, for another, he could tell by the melody and the tempo that Poppy used it to keep panic at bay. If it helped, he'd endure so they could get out.
Below, the debris shifted again and gave way to the floodwaters. Poppy's melody stopped with a small gasp, but she gripped him tighter and continued to hum. They definitely made it out in time. Branch could see the caked wall with his goggles, but Poppy had to squint to try and make out her friends by the cliff side. A few minutes into the climb she could see a tuft of Smidge's hair stretched out. Poppy pulsated the glow of her light and with a deep breath, reached as far as she could. Smidge grabbed her and Poppy lightly tugged at Branch's arm "Smidge's got us! Get ready to be pulled!"