Chapter Text
Branch was used to being alone.
In fact, he actually quite enjoyed being alone. He found existence alone to be far simpler than existence among others. When he did find himself alongside other trolls, he also found himself deeply overwhelmed. Other trolls were too loud, too messy, too much. They didn’t take him seriously, and quite frankly, he didn’t take them seriously either.
That was why he didn’t mind being alone. He would rather remain alone with his own thoughts rather than share them with those who would mock him. He would survive on his own. He was rather good at surviving on his own.
Branch kept non-perishables hoarded in his bunker, but he couldn’t save it all. He did still need to eat on a daily basis, after all. And fresh food was much nicer than the survival food he had packed away. For that, he’d go into the forest. He could much more easily get it by way of the market in town, but he didn’t like going into town any more than necessary. He didn’t have the time to be berated by those who didn’t understand. He not only avoided that by foraging, but he also found some joy in it. If not joy, then contentment. There was a certain peace to taking the time out of your day to be in nature. He had to be careful what he took - he had no interest in being poisoned. But over time, he had gotten quite good at identifying what was safe to eat.
Recently, he’d discovered a new food source. It wasn’t too far off from his bunker, but it was quite secluded, and across a small stream. It wasn’t difficult to get over, but Branch had never bothered until a month or so ago. But when he had, he’d found bushes and bushes of raspberries. He had to be careful to avoid the thorns, but the berries were some of the sweetest he’d ever tasted. He liked having them with his breakfast. So that was where he made for today.
The sunlight trickled down between the tree branches, illuminating small patches of ground where it hit.
Rustle. Snap.
Branch whipped his head around. Something was there. He’d heard it. He’d heard it move. He was completely still for a moment. Did he run? Did he stand his ground? Did he investigate, or act as though nothing had happened? Fleeing from one critter could seal your death warrant with another. And yet, he had no clue what it had been.
He waited one minute, two, and when he heard nothing else, he inched towards where the sound had come from. He looked left. Right. Nothing.
There was nothing there.
But something had been there. That was clear enough. The grass was flattened, as though something had been crouching here mere moments ago - and not a small creature, either. It may not have been silent approaching, but it was silent fleeing.
He backed up, still glancing back and forth as though he expected something to jump out at him at any moment.
He picked up his basket, left abandoned by the bushes. It had fallen sideways, spilling raspberries on the ground. He picked each one up, one by one, not taking the time to inspect for damage. He wanted to collect his food and get away from this spot as quickly as possible. He’d come for more some other day, when he didn’t feel as though he was being stalked by some unseen predator.
And you watched his every move.
You had come here for much the same purpose. You had awoken to find some critter had made away with your intended breakfast, so you’d come with a rumbling stomach to sit among the wilderness, popping berries in your mouth until you were satisfied. You hadn’t been expecting to find someone else already here.
You knew other trolls existed, of course. You’d lived among them when you were very young, and even now you’d have some come trampling through the wood. Those ones were easy enough to avoid - you could hear them coming from a mile away, with their shouting voices and heavy feet. You’d noticed the bushes yielding less fruit recently, but you had thought the blame lay with some bird. You hadn’t realized other trolls had discovered your food source.
You’d crouched behind bushes for a few minutes, watching him. When you made the foolish mistake of not looking where you were stepping, you’d darted behind the nearest tree. As the stranger approached, you climbed, quickly and quietly. Now, you sat on a branch about halfway up the tree. You were obscured from his view by leaves, but you could see him just fine.
By your standards, he was an awfully strange looking troll. Most of those you’d seen passing through your territory, so blissfully unaware of what easy targets they were for any hungry animal, they’d been bright and colorful. They walked in groups, speaking far more loudly than they really needed to. But this one was alone. He was cautious, aware of his surroundings. Evidently, he better understood the dangers of the wild than his kin. And he was a much duller color, gray-blue instead of the neons and pastels that seemed more common among those you’d seen.
He was more like you than any troll you’d ever seen.
You watched as he walked from the little clearing, looking back and forth for the creature he’d heard - looking for you. Your tail, hanging beneath the branch, swished back and forth on instinct.
Branch saw movement from the corner of his eye.
He thought it was a vine in the wind, but no, the tuft of hair at the end of it was a tell-tale sign this was something living. In fact, it looked rather similar to a troll tail. He had frozen, wondering if this was some joke being played on him, or some sort of creature that lured trolls in by mimicking their peers. Some animals did that, he’d heard, mainly fish. But was there some undiscovered beast on land, hungry for troll flesh?
His eyes followed it upwards, to find that no, it was not a hideous monster ready to eat him alive, and it was in fact, another troll. But nothing like any troll he’d ever seen. Their colors were duller than those in town, hair tangled with traces of mud. And they were staring at him with big eyes, like those of a spooked critter. Their pupils were bigger than he was used to seeing on a troll, like they were accustomed better to darkness than daylight.
You felt every muscle in your body tense up when you made eye contact. He’d seen you. Usually, people were oblivious to your presence, but he saw you, and what were you meant to do with that? You were one and the same, but so different. You feared him, without even really knowing why. Perhaps you were just so accustomed to being alone, that being any other way felt deeply, deeply wrong.
That was why, after several moments of frightened, frozen eye contact on both your ends, you sprung up and jumped over to the next tree. You moved so quickly, fleeing the berry bushes, that Branch lost sight of you in what seemed like an instant.
What had he just seen? Branch wasn’t one for the company of other trolls, but that was just so plainly strange. Were they lost? Were they okay? They behaved so differently to any other being he’d ever seen. He could see the intelligence in your eyes, but you reacted as though you had been a wild animal.
For a little while, he just stood there, trying to understand what he’d just seen. He was quite sure he hadn’t hallucinated it. At least, he was somewhat sure.
Branch wasn’t one for the company of other trolls, but he knew this would stick with him for a good long while until he found out just what that - what you - were.