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Moana waddled around in the cloth that covered her bottom half, which was hand-woven by the villagers. An eager grin spread across her softened features as she headed right towards the water. It sparkled in her view just so, almost as a way of tempting her. She tilted her head before glancing over her shoulder to see if she'd been followed.
Nope. No adults to intervene.
Moana giggled with delight as she took one step forward, the ocean tickling at her tiny toes. The water gradually began to sweep the child off of her feet, lifting her like a mother would. She excitedly blew spit bubbles while clapping her pudgy hands together. The little girl gazed up at the glistening liquid that seemed to tilt its own head-like feature. Moana tilted hers in response as she reached up to touch it. Just as her fingertips were mere inches upon feeling the cool sensation, a booming voice rang out.
“Moana!”
Said child turned her head to the side with a pout. The ocean automatically set her down, but not before placing a beautiful pink conch in her grasp. It then nuzzled her gently to urge her forward, despite the toddler’s blubbering pleas of protest. Seconds later, Tui and his lovely wife Sina rushed over to retrieve their child. Tui scooped her up in his arms and headed back towards the village with the rest of his family, all while ignoring his daughter’s cries.
Before they disappeared up the grassy hill, however, baby Moana couldn’t help but notice rustling movement from the bushes.
She managed to crawl away after dinner; only this time, she wasn’t sneaking off towards the ocean. The chief’s daughter scurried underneath the shade of the palm trees overhead, heading further into the jungle of plantation. Moana’s eyes widened as she heard something smack against the large, low leaves behind her. She whirled around but saw nothing, so she continued on. Shaking, the child warily ventured further as the sky grew darker. Scared as she’d been, she was determined to find out whom or what had snuck its way onto Motunui.
A sudden low growl could be heard from a nearby bush. The little girl froze in her path, eyes wider than before. Silence engulfed the air while she stepped closer. Moana's heart thudded against the inside of her chest as she swiftly pulled the serrated leaves aside and-
She let out a scream as a shadowed figure launched itself at her, trying to claw at her face. Footsteps slapped against the ground, nearing toward the child in danger. Sure enough, it was Chief Tui who had come to the rescue. He shoved the unknown force off of his daughter and pulled her close to his chest. Moana shivered and wept some more. Through her teary-eyed vision, she was just barely able to make out the small figure retreating to the bush, but not before it glared back at her glowing green eyes.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It had been a whole year after Moana saved her people by restoring the heart of Te Fiti. Her father Tui became much more lenient when it came to her oversea adventures – and rightfully so. The trusting bond they re-established made her heart soar, so much so that she even agreed to only leave Motunui once a week…maaaaaybe twice on special occasions. The demigod she’d befriended over time would frequently visit her in varying animal forms. Despite his doting tendencies, Maui couldn’t help being a bit of a rebellious influence on the chief’s daughter. He often coerced Moana to join him on his quests to pull more islands from the sea, or just lure her away from Motunui for a little while. After all, Maui had spent thousands of years on his own; it was nice that he finally made a friend, even if they were a mortal kid. Besides, he’d never have more fun teasing anyone else.
By the ripe age of seventeen, Moana couldn’t shake off the feeling that whatever attacked her so long ago was still alive and present upon the island of Motonui. To be sure, she spent the evening – after her coming of age celebration – amongst the deep, lush plantation. The brunette weaved her way around the trees before she cautiously slid down a muddy hill. When there were no signs of lurking danger, Moana turned back around and headed in the direction of the ocean. The cooling surface wrapped around her ankles and gave them a gentle squeeze. She let out a giggle as she kneeled down, allowing the water’s waves to sway back and forth against her knees. With the fresh air hugging at her skin, the girl was tempted to go for a brief swim.
The sound of howling put a dent in her plans.
Moana slowly glanced to the other end of the shore. Though the night sky made it difficult to see who it was, she could tell from their silhouette that they were male. She narrowed her eyes as she stepped away from the ocean. Moana then took off sprinting towards the mysterious figure, while her hair whipped wildly in the wind. Just as the distance between them started coming to a close, a larger individual used their own body as a sort of obstacle. The chief’s daughter ran smack into a broad chest and let out a cry of frustration, as she immediately knew who they were.
“Urgh! MAUI!”
“Shapeshifter, Demigod of the Wind and Sea,” he declared proudly in a singsong tone as he puffed his chest out further. “How may I be of your assistance, Princess?”
Moana nudged her elbow into the cocky brute’s side. He simply waved her off like a mosquito as he chuckled and swung an arm over her shoulders. She nearly toppled from the sudden weight, though she kept her ground by pushing her own weight against his.
“Why are you here?!” She hissed.
Maui turned his head towards her while he ruffled her hair. “What? I can’t stop by to check on my best friend?” The menacing glare that Moana shot his way was the only response she intended to provide. “Anyway, what’re you doing up so late?”
She ducked out from under his bicep and fixed her hair as she spoke once more, “Call it hunting, if you will. There’s someone, or something, that’s been getting comfortable with its stay for too many years now.”
The demigod tilted his head curiously. “Whaddaya mean?”
Moana sighed with a roll of her eyes. “I mean that there is some sort of threat on Motunui.” She turned around as she began to walk backwards and pointed towards the jungle-like half of the island. “When I was just a waddling tot, my curiosity got the best of me-”
“As it always does-”
“-and I wandered off into the plantation without supervision. Something had bothered my brain earlier that day when I saw movement coming from the bushes, so I decided to try and track it down. What greeted me was…I-I don’t know…” Moana’s pupils started to dilate as she tried to retell the memory. “It was almost like a feral child of some sort – around my age at the time.” She shook her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, nudging up against Maui to ground her thoughts once more. “Anyways, I’m pretty sure that howling was coming from them and I was so close to the target, but YOU--!” The young woman socked her demigod friend in his shoulder, which hardly elicited any sort of reaction. “You went and screwed that up for me!”
“Boo hoo, poor Curly was trying to turn a wild child into her boyfriend,” the latter taunted as he stole a side-glance in her direction. “You’ll survive one more night without finding the guy. You’ve been doing fine since the last incident, after all, haven’t you?”
She tried to think of a comeback, but only came up with, “I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, and I’m not about to make any more assumptions until I come face-to-face with them!”
"Yeah, yeah,” Maui drawled with a slight yawn. “Just don’t worry about it for tonight. What you need right now is some beauty rest.” He gave her an encouraging, light pat on the back. “Sleep tight, Princess.”
Moana grumbled in protest to herself as she stomped towards the hut beside her parents’. By the time she turned around to wish her companion a (snarky) goodnight, he had already disappeared. She sighed to herself, gave one more furious glare towards the spot she’d (sort of) reunited with her childhood assaulter, and then headed to bed.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Fast forward to the year 2017, as Moana is just turning eighteen years old. She‘s been anticipating this very moment, waiting when she’d finally stop being treated like a child. Though her first impulse is to run along the sand and board onto her boat, her people have already begun to prepare an evening feast for her. Moana shakes her head and turns to her parents, knowing they are the ones responsible for the upcoming events.“No daughter of mine is going to disappear for the next few days without a proper goodbye,” Tui tells her, yet the gentle smile on his face betrays his tone of declaration.His daughter shakes her head with a smile of her own. “I was only going to sail for a couple of hours, Dad.” After a few minutes of persuasion, Moana solidifies her end of the deal with a handshake. “Once I finish my supper, I’ll begin my mini-voyage. Don’t worry – I promise to be back before the full moon rises.”Although Tui takes her word for it, Mother Nature seems to have other plans that night. The boat rocks furiously back and forth, bumping up against the waves. Water splashes onto Moana’s skin while the wind screams in her ear, causing her hair to sharply slap against her cheek. Still, she presses on as she tightens the sail and keeps the basket of food stored safely in the wooden floorboards beneath her feet. Moana is about to sigh in relief once the boat stops tipping back and forth, only to suddenly be knocked off of it and straight into the ocean. She swiftly swims back to the surface and gasps for air as she frantically glances around her. The woven basket filled with fruits and meat has been shoved overboard and is now just barely staying afloat. The young woman lets out a cry when a brand-new wave sneaks up behind her and washes over her.The ocean’s temperature that surrounds her seems to have dropped, almost like it’s reacting to the severity of the situation. Before she can slip into unconsciousness, Moana feels a sudden tug coming from behind her. She glances past her feet, seeing a hint of a glow, and her eyes quickly widen with fear once it comes into full view. Below her swirls a vortex; possibly a whirlpool of some sort, neither of which the girl is ready to be dragged into. With some help from the ocean, she propels herself towards the surface, but doesn’t get far enough in time. One more tug is all Moana needs to feel again to realize that she’s being sucked further down. She desperately gasps for air and of course only comes to find water flooding into her throat. Bubbles flush out of her mouth due to the series of underwater chokes and coughs.Please, she silently pleads as she feels herself growing light-headed. Help! Moana is forced upright with the jerking movement of her own body. She wheezes and pants, relieved when oxygen fills her lungs once more. The environment around her is foreign: she’s sitting just on a grassy shore next to a river; the leaves above her aren’t elongated, nor do they protrude out or wilt slightly the way they do on the palm trees she’s come to know; the skies overhead are even brighter than they’ve ever been back on Motunui; and, lastly, the grass resting beneath the touch of her palms is wet. There’s also a hint of mud beneath the layer of greenery.Moana inhales deeply as she visually drinks in the new area. She slowly turns her head to the left, only to be thrown off-guard by the person staring shamelessly. She slaps her own hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming as the young man crawls closer. He’s on his hands and knees, like some sort of feral being— The latter tilts her head with a squint of her eyes. Despite everything else about the boy’s appearance seeming unrecognizable, this pair of fierce green eyes matches the one from just a couple years ago. They even reflect the ones she’d seen before being attacked as a toddler. She swallows loudly and gives the familiar stranger a steady once-over. Without saying a word, the brown-haired guy stalks off briefly, only to return with berries and leaves. Moana’s eyes flicker from him to the objects between them, baffled. She winces for a moment when his hand inches towards her, until she discovers he’s only trying to push the items closer to her.Her eyes finally meet his own. She tries to make it blatantly obvious that she’s hesitant to accept his “gifts”, as they barely even know each other. Even so, his gaze never tears away from hers.“Why did you attack me back then?”He does not respond but rather continues to stare at her with double the intensity from before. Moana clears her throat and tries to reiterate the question.“Why did you attack me as a child?”There’s a slight glimmer of recollection that passes through his irises, but it leaves, as quickly as it had come. Her brow furrows at the sight. He definitely remembers her now. Moana clears her throat and repositions herself so that she’s sitting with her legs tucked under her bum. Without so much as a flinch, she straightens her back until she’s towering over him from his crouching position. If he’s been struck with fear, his facial expression doesn’t give it away. Instead, he rises to his feet for the first time. When he tilts his head downward, it almost appears as if a glare has crept its way onto his dirtied face. Even so, it’s hard to know for sure, with those brown locks clinging to his cheeks and forehead from sweat. The ends of his hair rest just a little past his eyelashes.Before she can take in more of his physical attributes, the wild young man suddenly sprints off. Once he’s out of sight, she reaches for one of the berries and pops it into her mouth. As she’s about to curiously examine the leaves, she starts to see why he’d brought them to her.Running along the side of her right leg is a bloody gash; the bottom-half of it already seems to have gotten infected. Moana curses to herself and guesses this was caused by her bumpy journey down that vortex. She snatches up the leaves to gently press them against the upper-half and midsection of the wound. For a moment, the young woman just sits there in silence and watches as the dark red liquid seeps through the apex and veins. She sucks in a breath through clenched teeth when one of the leaves start to wilt and grow damp with her blood. Disgusted and disturbed, Moana staggers to her feet in order to find something else that will cover the injury. She limps off along the side of the grass-filled shore, all the while wondering when she’ll see that man again.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She drags out a long, heavy sigh as she slowly makes her way out of the river. Goosebumps immediately appear upon her brown skin, just barely trying to adjust to the shift in temperature. Moana bends over and wrings the water out from her curly locks while she closes her eyes and hums aloud. Once her hair is dry, she takes the time out to find something – anything, so long as it isn’t poisonous – to dry off with. Her eyes land on a rather unnaturally large leaf that sits nearby the shore. She lifts it up off the ground and wraps what she can around herself. The young woman prepares to find a spot in the sun to lie down and dry the rest of her body, but the sound of the grass stirring besides her stops this plan. Moana’s eyes grow wide and she lets out a scream when a tetrapodophis comes slithering out. Bright yellow eyes glare up at her, glowing, while a stream of red slides back and forth on the ground. She places a hand over her chest and slowly starts to take several steps back. The prehistoric reptile hisses at its victim and lunges forward. Just as Moana shuts her eyes tightly and braces herself for an unmeasurable amount of impending pain, a vicious growl slices through the tense atmosphere. “You again?!” She cries and clutches the leaf tighter, trying to keep it from sliding off her bare body.Sure enough, the feral human from before is back in action; only now, he’s wrestling with the tetrapodophis. It hisses and coils around him, but he takes a huge chomp into the creature’s neck to stun it. Moana’s chest heaves up and down, unable to believe what’s happening before her very eyes. The man growls one more time for good measure and watches his opponent slither back to where it came from. She can’t help but notice the proud smirk appearing upon his face.“Hey…” Moana steps towards him while holding her leaf-towel in place. “Thank you—for saving me, I mean.”He looks to her and blinks, responding with what looks like an expression of confused innocence. As she kneels to his crouching height, a weird voice in her brain urges her to pat his head. Moana does so without much thought to it. The man immediately starts to pant and grin widely. He rolls onto his stomach like a dog while squinting his eyes as he looks up to the sunny sky with bliss. She giggles a little; she can’t help but rub his stomach.There’s something strangely enticing about him, she decides.Moana repositions herself until she’s sitting beside the intriguing individual. “My name is Moana. Moana Waialiki.” She gifts him with a welcoming smile as he tilts his head up at her. “What is yours?” Even when he continues staring at her blankly, she reiterates the question. “You have a name, don’t you?” The most response she gets from him following up with this is a slow blink. He then moves to sit up on his knees, somewhat towering over her. Moana clears her throat awkwardly and averts her gaze. “Maybe you don’t speak English…but I‘m almost certain you can understand me.” Her eyes flicker to his once more. “You wouldn’t have looked at me the way you did before if you didn’t.”She sighs while rubbing her arm. After all these years, he almost doesn’t seem like the same person who’d attacked her years ago. He seems much more at ease, yet lost and curious, just as she’d been as a child. Given his current mannerisms, the stranger probably hasn’t changed much since his own childhood. A sudden thought floats into Moana’s brain while she absentmindedly stares at the man for some time.“Spot…seems like an appropriate name for you,” she says aloud, more to herself than to the latter. She then adds, “For now,” upon noticing the way his eyebrows tick and furrow a little. “Until we find a way for you to understand me, I will call you Spot.”He clearly doesn’t like it, but it’s not as if he can object--or so Moana assumes. The most she’ll get from him as a response is nostril-flaring. Though his brow continues to furrow deeper, she gives him an insistent, and rather cheeky, smile.“The name seems to fit, anyway.” Moana reaches out gingerly and traces the tip of her pinky finger along the specks littered across his nose and cheeks. “I mean, you’ve got so many here that calling you Freckles would just be too cliché.” She can’t help but burst into a fresh fit of giggles as he gives her a funny look.Both of his mint-colored eyes glance down at his nose to the point of crossing slightly. From his perspective, the freckles almost look like tiny little bugs that have died and stuck to his skin. It doesn’t seem like too far-fetched in his mind, considering his limited knowledge and vocabulary. He finally looks to Moana again and tilts his head, drinking in the sight of her. She thinks nothing of it as she rises to her feet.“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get dressed,” she informs the man, but then realizes that it would be foolish of her to put the same dirty clothes she’s been wearing for some time now. The young woman glances down at the leaf she’s sporting for a replacement towel and a lightbulb immediately goes off in her head. She rushes off to look for more of the serrated material. Once she’s gathered enough, Moana shoots the guy with the wandering eyes a warning glare. “Look. Away.” She doesn’t have to repeat herself.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Moana fights the urge to scream out a hideous string of foul words, but the pain is unbearable. She bites down hard on her lower lip as Spot helps in the removal of the leaves around her leg. He isn’t exactly mindful towards her state of agony, so the young woman chooses not to say anything. Her brown eyes begin to water when the green material fights for its right to stick to the exposed, fresh skin around her wound. She occasionally straightens out her unharmed knee until her foot is pressed against Spot’s shoulder. He glances up at Moana with a quizzical expression before finally ripping the remnants of the leaf off her appendage.She can’t help herself.“FUCK!”He slightly jumps in shock, eyes wide as he stares at Moana, who’s now got her knee pulled close to her chest and is trying not to cry out more than she already has. Spot scratches the back of his neck while rising to his feet; there’s got to be some way he can cheer her up. He turns his back on her as he rushes out of the straw hut he’s built for the two of them. Moments later, the brunette returns with his hands cupped. Resting in his palms is fresh water from the river. He’s careful not to spill it when he kneels beside Moana, gradually – tenderly – pressing his wet hands against her injury. She closes her eyes and lets out a soft, slow sigh in response to the calming sensation. It’s the right temperature of cold that will surely help in cooling her wound, which currently feels as though it’s on fire.“Thanks, Spot,” Moana speaks genuinely as she reaches out to ruffle his hair. “And I’m sorry for cursing at you back then. Just please be gentle the next time you’re removing the wraps, okay?”He nods slowly, which in turn amazes Moana for the umpteenth time. For someone who clearly can’t seem to verbally reciprocate English with her, it’s a relief to know that he at least understands it. Seeing how his expressions shift every time there’s a change in her mood gives it away, too.Well, duh, Moana, she mentally scolds herself. Feral or not, he’s still a human being just like you.Spot turns his head to the side and gazes out the open doorway of their shared hut. He starts to crawl towards the outdoors, with one clenched fist in front of the other and both knees parallel to each other. His knuckles are kissing the ground like a gorilla’s would. There’s an intense gleam in his eye as the young man stares off into the distance. Moana gradually follows his gaze, admiring the clear blue skies adorned with fluffy blue clouds. It’s a pleasantly sunny day yet the temperature isn’t unbearably hot; in fact, it’s rather cool, like Motunui’s in the springtime. A smile breaks through her smooth features, putting further emphasis on the dimples in her cheeks.“Shall we go for a walk?” Moana starts to stand, but not without a helping hand from Spot. “I think it’s about time we go looking to collect some food for the week, anyway, don’t you?”Once again, he nods, as he assists the Polynesian girl to her feet. He even provides himself as a sort of cane for her, lest her leg no longer hurt as bad as it had previously. Moana gifts her friend with a gracious smile and begins hobbling out of the hut. Spot nudges himself against her for stronger support until he realizes an alternative option is available. Without a moment’s hesitation, he shifts his weight forward as he bends his knees and - without so much as glancing back, either - lifts Moana onto his back. She lets out a yelp of surprise whilst locking her arms firmly around his neck. He begins to take off when she suddenly cries out again, only from a brand-new cause.“Spot, wait! Carry me to the river! I think there’s something in it!”The mentioned boy cocks a brow in her direction before squinting towards the area across from him. Sure enough, there’s a tuft of fur bobbing up and down the water’s surface. Moana removes herself from Spot and limps towards the movement. She keeps her wrists out of his reach when he tries to stop her.“I don’t know what it is, but I want to find out,” she declares. “Let me go.” The bobbing continues; though it’s become more prominent in her view, Moana can really only make out some tips of the tuft, which is a pink and sprout-like. Her curiosity grows as she attempts to speed up. “I think it’s an animal of some sort! It could be drowning!” She glances over her shoulder to Spot. “Wait right here!”She faces forward once more and dives right into the river, one arm already reaching forward and her fingertips outstretched, in hopes that she’ll catch the creature. Just as the pink, balled-up figure comes within her grasp, the water around her starts to bubble violently. Moana lets out a gasp in vain as she’s swept off balance and sent hurling further down the stream. Air quickly escapes her lungs and the familiar glow returns within her line of vision. Once again, she’s been sucked into this strange vortex, but not before feeling the back of her head snap against a rock. Everything fades to black as Moana feels the creature slip from her hand.“Do you think she’s alive?” A chipper voice asks in a not-so-subtle whisper.“Who cares?! We don’t even know who or what this is; could be a Bergen, for all we know!”“Oh, cut it out, Branch! Bergen don’t look like that and you know it!”An irritated huff overpowers the latter’s snapping tone. “Either way, we need to leave before it wakes up.”As if on cue, Moana’s eyelids start to flutter. She turns her head to the side, but her blurred vision only allows her to see two blobs: one being a mass of pink and the other being a mix between pale blue and grey. Through her nostrils flows the scent of copper as she slowly regains consciousness. She runs her fingers through her tangled curls and is disturbed to be greeted by the sight of her fingertips dripping a dark red liquid.
Great, as if I haven’t been bleeding enough for the week…
“Goddammit, Poppy!” The blue-grey blur cries out. “I told you we should’ve ran when we had the chance!” Moana turns her head back towards the creature. It visibly flinches and seems to be backing away.The latter, however, makes its way closer to her. “Hi…are you okay? You’d hit your head pretty hard when you took that dive.”Moana doesn’t say anything for a moment, still trying to gain some sort of sense of the new environment around her. “Where am I?”The kind voice returns, louder than previous. “Why, you’re in Tr-”“-A trainwreck,” the other cuts in. “You’re in a trainwreck situation and you should get out as soon as possible.”Propping herself up by her elbows, Moana squints down as her vision gradually returns to normal. “Who are you guys?” With her brown eyes scrolling, she can now see the sprout-like pink tufts are the tips of the pink creature’s head. Upon a further, lowered stare, it might as well be a small, stubby, barefoot human (according to Moana’s perspective).The pink, human-like thing beams brightly as she takes a step back and curtsies. “I’m Princess Poppy of Tro-”“AH PSH-TUH-PUH!” The male mini-human beside her hisses out incoherent, sound effect-like words.Poppy shoots him a glare and proceeds with her introduction, turning her attention back to the taller individual as her welcoming grin returns. “The spaz next to me is named Branch.” She tilts her head up at the brown-skinned girl. “And who might you be?”“…I’m Moana of Motunui,” the latter replies with a soft scratch of her arm. “I don’t really know where I am, or if there’s some sort of reason, or…purpose… for me constantly flying down these vortexes…” When noticing the exchange of confused looks between Poppy and Branch, Moana decides to drop that subject. “Never mind. All I remember is trying to save you--” she lightly gestures towards the pink mini-human with a slight turn of her wrist. “—before I wound up here.”There’s a few seconds of silence that ticks along the three of them before Poppy pipes up again. “Well! I’m sure if this is the second time you’ve, say, somehow teleported from home, there’s got to be a reason for it!”Moana repeats the word “teleported” to herself under her breath. It seems reasonable enough that this is what such a phenomenon would be dubbed outside of her culture. “I guess so.” She offers the two little people a shrug and glances back to the princess. “You seem to be alright. I take it you weren’t actually drowning, then?”Poppy raises both eyebrows in shock as she seems slightly taken aback. “Drowning? Me? Heck no! I’m perfectly fine! That glowing thingamajig is just my way of coming back home!” Her grin is back.The brunette’s eyes sway from side to side before focusing on the mini-humans again. “Um, okay…so, then, how do I get back home?”“Dunno,” Branch finally speaks again. “But that isn’t our problem. You’re just going to have to find your own way back.” He reaches out and grabs his friend’s wrist, pulling her back as he turns to leave. “Let’s go, Poppy. There’s no use in helping a stranger when we don’t know what they’re capable of.”“What? Branch, no—stop it!” She jerks away from him, brow furrowed. “She needs our help! This girl tried to save me from unimposing danger; the least we could do is return the favor—er, the least I could do, that is.”Moana waves a hand dismissively. “No, no, please! I don’t want to be the reason you two stay far from home for much longer.” She suppresses a stressed out sigh and offers a lopsided smile. “I’ll find my way back somehow.”Poppy shakes her head with persistence. “I’m no longer taking no for an answer from you, missy!” She gestures for the tall human to follow them, ignoring the latter’s paranoid protests. “C’mon, you can stay with us while we help you figure this all out.”With a new shrug of her shoulders, Moana rises to her full height. Branch faints from the sight, prompting Poppy to drag his ass back to the village.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Soooo, what exactly are you guys…?” Moana shifts her body weight from foot to foot whilst she scratches her arm, glancing around at the intense amount of greenery surrounding her.Poppy turns to her newfound friend and smiles proudly. “We’re trolls!”The latter freezes in place, with her mouth agape, as she suddenly bites her bottom lip roughly. Unbeknownst to them, Moana is currently having difficulty in holding back her squeals of excitement. She’d always heard of troll folklore from her good ol’ pal, Maui, whom she assumed was always just screwing with her by telling more myths. Little has she known up until now that these little guys really do exist; they’ve just lived in what seems like an entirely different dimension.“What the hell is she doing with her face?” Branch grumbles.“What? You’ve never bitten your lip before?” Poppy asks tauntingly.He sneers at her and accompanies it with an eye roll. “No, but sometimes I bite other people’s lips when they don’t know how to keep them shut.”Moana glances back and forth between the two, immediately taking note the way Poppy alters her expression at those words. The pink-haired trollette averts her gaze and clears her throat awkwardly, trying to look at anything else but her male friend. Moana smirks to herself, unable to keep the thought to herself.“Please, tell me--are you guys a thing? Branch’s eyes nearly bug out of his head as he whirls around, his expression appearing as a mixture of horror and confusion. “I-I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean, but—if it’s what I think you’re insinuating—the answer is no!”The dark blue blush that appears on his cheeks tells Moana a different story, but she lets it slide and continues to smirk. “Alright, alright, just had to ask; the curiosity was eating away at my soul.”Branch scoffs in response and he faces forward, but not before nudging Poppy to speak in a tone of voice that only she’ll hear. “When we get back to the village, may I have a word with you about this one?” She barely even glances his way while giving a swift nod. He cocks his brow and nudges Poppy again. “What’s wrong with you?”She hisses, “Nothing! We’ll talk when we get there, just like you said, alright?!”Wonder what’s up with them, Moana ponders silently.By the time they reach the village, the moon is out, leaving the night sky – and the three individuals wandering beneath it – in awe. Moana sighs happily as she gazes up at the sight. While she’s distracted, Branch takes the pink princess and urges her beneath a mushroom. Poppy finally meets his furious glare.“Uh, hi, yeah, lemme ask you something: are you a dumbass?!” He gives her a half-hearted shove, clearly too exhausted to unleash his never-ending wrath on her this late at night. Poppy barely reacts as she blinks, the dark circles more apparent under her eyes. “What made you think it was a great idea to invite a human to Troll Village?!”“I never said it was a great idea,” she retorted groggily. “All I did was take action in inviting her. She accepted. That’s how making friends works, Branch.”“Um, no, Poppy, that’s not how ‘making friends’ fucking works! First off, we barely know this—this—girl! We don’t know whether or not she has malicious intent behind that sickeningly smug smirk!”For a change, Poppy is doing her best to suppress an eye roll. Normally, she’s too pepped up with energy to be irked by anyone, although Branch (more often than not) is the one troll who dares to test her limits. She shifts her jaw from side to side and tilts her head while a tired smile slows makes its way onto her face.“I have yet to detect a mean-spirited bone in that young woman’s body, Branch,” she speaks informatively, the smile never disappearing. It clearly sets him on edge, so she continues. “And if you’re so afraid to be around her, maybe you should just go back to your goddamn bunker and hibernate there for the next ten years.” Her expression starts to darken as she straightens her back, growling out her next words through gritted teeth. “Stop worrying about decisions I make; they don’t affect you. Quit acting as if you’re so damn worried about anyone when in reality the only troll you give a quarter of a shit about is YOURSELF!”Branch stands there, speechless. The last sound made between the two is his loud gulping. Poppy steps around him and returns to where Moana has been patiently waiting, quietly apologizing to her for the “unnecessary holdup.” She waves dismissively and tells the small one not to worry, for, at this point, she’s pretty much got all the time in the world. The two of them then walk together towards a large tree with blue leaves that glisten beneath the moonlight. They sit beneath it and spend the next few hours getting to know each other. Branch feels as though he’s frozen in place, before he finally shakes the shock out of his system, with fluid rage replacing it. He turns away and disappears into the dark, heading off to his underground bunker. With Moana comfortably resting under the tree – and a large leaf providing as her blanket – Poppy feels a lot more reassured to head home now. She gently pushes the door open and trudges her way inside, only to pause momentarily beside the hallway mirror. She starts to turn to the side and lifts her shirt up slightly. Poppy furrows her brow as she gives her waist a firm pinch, tugging on the fat of her skin. Her upper lip curls in disgust while she exhales in loud disappointment. Yep, it’s definitely getting close to that time of the month. The young trollette always gains a few pounds and finds herself compelled to unleash her hormonal rage onto Branch whenever he’s seemingly unreasonable.Poppy faces forward, glaring at her reflection as she smacks her stomach with an open palm. It jiggles slightly, prompting her to smack it again. This time, she adds more force. A red handprint is already starting to appear and darken her abdomen. She whines helplessly and rushes to the felt-based balance scale, which her father made long ago in order to help measure the foods he often cooked. Poppy cries out in horror as the end she stands on instantly sinks to the floor. Her eyes start to water and she lets out a scream of frustration before straight-up bawling.“I’VE GOTTEN FATTER!” The poor girl wails while simultaneously choking on her tears.As rage continues to consume her, Poppy grabs her shirt and pulls it up over her head, tossing it onto the grass carpet by the couch. She huffs and puffs while vigorously trying to jump out of her skirt. After several trials and seeing that it barely goes past her wide thighs, the tears overflow and bubble over tenfold. She crumbles to the ground, weeping incessantly. It isn’t until she hears the creaking of her front door that she decides to meekly look up.There stand the conjoined twins, Satin and Chenille, who don’t say a word. They merely rush to their friend’s aid and pull her close. Poppy sniffles into their shoulders, hugging the two sisters tightly, not even noticing they’ve brought a shared overnight bag.They know by now that it’s just going to be one of those nights.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Branch…? Branch…”Said troll groans in his sleep, brow furrowed as he rolls onto his back and rubs his nose, eyes still closed. He feels the sensation of someone trying to shove him off his bed, but he ignores it. Another shove. Ignored.Already impatient, Poppy grabs the leaf her friend is laying on and shakes it out as if she’s making his bed. Within a matter of seconds, he comes rolling out, landing on the stone floor with a hard thump. Branch grunts in protest and pushes himself up on his elbows, shooting a glare in her direction.“What the fuck, Poppy! What could be so urgent that you decide to wake me up at 1 a.m.?!”She inhales deeply before swiftly saying, in words that basically meld together, “Moanaisgone.” Branch shakes his head before he tilts it, waiting for her to restate her sentence. She sighs. “Moana is gone. I don’t know where she would’ve disappeared to in a land she doesn’t know, but she isn’t under the tree anymore.”Branch scoffs as he rubs the dirt off his pajamas. “Good riddance. Maybe she went back home.”“Branch!”He turns to face Poppy. “I’m serious. Think of how little we’ll have to explain to the others now that she’s out of sight.”The pink-haired girl’s shoulders sag, brow twisted in concern for her taller-sized friend. “That might be even more of a problem—for you, anyway. What if she’s wandered off towards a different area in the village, where someone else could see her?”Branch shrugs carelessly. “Well, you should’ve thought of that before letting her come here.” She forces out an irritable sigh before he presses on. “Alright, fine. We’ll look for her. I mean, given her height compared to ours, it doesn’t really seem all that sensible for either of us to have ‘lost’ her.”Poppy squeals eagerly and attacks her troll companion with hugs and platonic kisses. He groans in protest as he pushes her away. She giggles and faces south. “Let’s check back at the river. My guess is that there’s some sort of connection between that girl and water, so she’s bound to be there!”Low and behold, once they stumble into the outskirts of Troll Village, Poppy and Branch find their human friend sitting in the river. Her back is towards the two of them; her hair is hanging down her back. All else that is visible are her bare shoulders. Poppy skips down towards the sand and rushes towards the brown-skinned girl, only to tilt her head as she stops and smiles, listening to the melodious humming before her. The other troll simply rolls his eyes for the umpteenth time; he’s heard enough acapella music from the others in his village—the last person he cares to hear it from is this human.Poppy calls out to her, “Moana!” The hominid glances over her bare shoulder and gifts the smaller person with a smile. “There you are! I was wondering where you ran off to!”Moana laughs softly as she turns to face them. Branch averts his gaze immediately at the sight. It’s now evident that she’s been bathing in the river; her clothes are nowhere to be found, not even attached to her body. Although the locks of her brown hair are covering her bare breasts, it leaves little to Branch’s imagination. He clears his rasped morning throat loudly as he turns away completely, glancing around to focus his gaze anywhere else. If she has noticed, Poppy decides not to draw attention to it, as she moves closer to the water’s edge.“Y’know, there’s actually a waterfall behind the area we stay,” she informs Moana, then stops and pouts. “Except it’s more than half your size… the furthest you’d be able to get in is toe-deep.”Moana giggles at the prospect as she waves dismissively. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine right here. I’ll be out shortly.”Poppy smiles warmly. “Please! Take your time! Don’t feel the need to rush just ‘cause we’re here--”“Sorry, I need to ask: WHERE are your CLOTHES?!?” Branch barks out, not even attempting to face the two.The dark-haired young woman glances to the rock on the higher cliff. “They’ve gotten dirty again after my past adventures, so I decided to wash them in the river here. Now they’re up there, waiting to dry.” Now it’s Poppy’s turn to giggle, though it’s half-hearted. As soon as Moana rises out of the water, the trollette gives her figure a once-over as she begins to scowl slightly. It’s evident that the girl has muscles, yet not to the point where they’re intimidating. The sun’s light reflects off her skin, causing it to shine bronze more than anything. Her brown eyes gleam with a sort of carefree spirit and almost appear hazel today. The curls in her hair occasionally drip with water, though most of it looks like it’s already starting to dry. Poppy focuses her gaze back on the human’s body. There’s a slight dipping curve from Moana’s waist to her hips, but that’s as far as Poppy’s eyes will go. She’s seen enough of the Polynesian’s legs; what’s lying just above her thighs, however, is something she’s polite enough not to stare at. Even so, envy soaks through Poppy’s veins. Branch, who’s still turned away, calls out, “You dressed yet?! ‘Cause we’re ready to head back.” “Speak for yourself,” the trollette murmurs behind him. Moana walks past them, ignoring Branch as he reasonably turns his head to avoid catching sight of her bare rear end (though it’s already too late). She climbs up onto the boulder and retrieves her clothing. Once she’s returned, the trolls are nowhere in sight. Moana furrows her brow in confusion and looks around curiously. It’s as if they were never there to begin with. She calls out for the two, waiting for a response. “Over here!” She hears Poppy’s voice ring out behind the bushes.Moana pushes the grand-sized leaves aside and catches up with the two. She quietly strolls along a few behind them, admiring the gorgeous outdoors. In the midst of her viewing, she steadily slips back into her woven skirt and top.“So, what are your guys’ plans for the day?”Branch scoffs. “My plans involve staying out of trouble, which is likely where you two will be headed.” He points a stubby finger back and forth between Poppy and Moana, receiving deadpanned stares from both of them. Even the latter is getting fed up with his pessimistic shit.“Fine, then,” Poppy pipes up. “Go ahead and have fun sulking by your lonesome. We are gonna go and explore for a little while. I wanna give my friend the grand tour of the place!” No more words are spoken from Branch as he side-steps out of sight. It’s now down to the two girls. They laugh awkwardly as they look around the area. Without his negative commentary, the atmosphere now seems a bit tense. With Poppy barely disguising her envious vibes from Moana, it feels as though they’re more like frenemies now.The silence eventually dissolves as they get to talking like normal again. Throughout their journey, Poppy carelessly tells her new friend all about the other trolls back at the village, especially the group she hangs out with the most. Moana nods occasionally and smiles at the sight of the little troll getting wound up with a fresh jolt of energy. She hasn’t felt this close to another female other than her mother. It feels like she’s known Poppy forever, almost like a sister of some sort. The sudden realization dawns on her that she hasn’t asked the small person about her age. Maybe their numbers aren’t too far apart.“Hey, uh, Poppy—how old are you? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”The pink-haired trollette glances up to Moana with a grin. “I just turned twenty a few months ago.”The latter can’t help but grin back. “Seriously?! I just turned eighteen around the same time!”Poppy jumps and down excitedly as she tugs on the bottom of Moana’s skirt, squealing all over again. “We’re totally sisters separated from birth!”The two young women continue to gab away for the rest of the morning. Before either of them even realize, the sun has started to set. They make the wise decision on heading back to the village.“Although, I’m not sure how much longer I should stay,” Moana speaks pointedly. “I feel like I’m intruding or crashing in on your space somehow…”Poppy interrupts her friend’s drawn out verbal guilt. “Nah, you’re good! ‘Mi casa es su casa’, as I always say!”Moana beams widely, feeling drawn in by the female’s troll positive vibes now more than ever. This is the type of friend she’s been looking for all her life. She feels so at ease and carefree with her.They return to the village where Poppy offers to build a more comfortable bed-like structure for Moana to rest on while she’s here. She ties stems of leaves together in a knot and pinches the blades until they form a sort of bridge between one another. After repeating the same process with about twenty more leaves, she then lays them over the grass.“I don’t really know how to make a pillow, though,” Poppy admits sheepishly with a lopsided grin. “You’ll have to just use what you’ve got as both that and a blanket for now.”“It’s okay,” Moana assures her. “I appreciate all that you’ve done for me.” She pats the blanket of leaves as she positions herself to lay down. “Everything you’ve done for me today is just…really enough to make happiness for me last a lifetime.”Poppy feels herself start to tear up, but she quickly wipes at her misty eyes. Her voice comes out as a weakened, wobbly croak. “Hey, anything for a friend.”She sits beside Moana until she’s fallen asleep. Once her eyes start to close, the trollette tiptoes off back to her home, untying her hair as soon as she steps inside. Exhausted, she collapses onto the couch and lazily removes her day clothes. Poppy grabs the quilt that’s draped over the back cushions and pulls it over to cover her half-naked form. Within a matter of seconds, she dozes off.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Poppy jolts upright with a gasp, eyes wide. Her skin is doused with sweat; hell, even the quilt she’d wrapped herself up in has been dampened. She runs her fingers through her messy pink hair, eyes trained upon the grass carpet beside the couch as she shuts her eyes tight. “Relax,” she tells herself, letting out a steady breath. “It was just a nightmare…” There’s a loud knock on the door, startling her. She jumps off the couch, but not before putting a robe on, and yanks it open frantically. To her not-so-surprise, it’s Branch. He’s got his eyebrows raised up high and fear dancing around his facial expression. “Hey,” she breathes. “What’s wrong? You look upset—not that that’s particularly anything new.” He rushes into her home and swiftly shuts the door, crouching against the wall beside it. His voice comes out as a hushed whisper. “There’s a Bergen out there.” Poppy gasps and kneels beside him. “How long has it been here?” “I don’t know, but that’s not important. We just have to wait in here until we’re sure it’s gone-” They both freeze at the sound of heavy, thumping footsteps. Branch inhales slowly as he looks to his friend. Poppy’s eyes start to water as she clutches his hand. Half of him is relieved she’s got enough sense to be scared, but the other half wishes her grip were less bone-crushing. He winces slightly as he presses one of his elongated ears to the wood. Branch’s frightened gaze meet Poppy’s when he hears a second set of footsteps. They’re lighter than that of the previous. “Um, excuse me.” It’s Moana! Thank goodness. “Is there something you need? You don’t look like you’re from here.” There’s a few solid seconds of silence before the two trolls then hear the young woman let out a roar of her own, shortly after the Bergen had. The thumping gets louder and – from what the two can tell – realize they must be wrestling. Poppy nudges Branch excitedly, wiping her tears away. “Moana’s saving us!” The silence returns after the loud footsteps trail off. Branch and Poppy wince in surprise as the front door is daintily opened. They’re both greeted to the sight of a large brown eye. They sigh with relief once knowing it’s the eye of Moana. “I can’t believe you just did that for us!” Poppy exclaims as she rushes out of the house, hugging her knight in shining armor by her knee. Moana gently lifts the smaller individual up onto her palm and presses her cheek to hers. “I’m so glad you two are safe. What was that thing, anyway…?” “Bergens,” Branch speaks up as he joins them, standing by Moana’s knee. “They’re nasty creatures who eat trolls. They think that’s the only they can be happy.” The girls place both hands over their hearts in unison, unitedly feeling sorry that someone thinks that taking another living creature’s life would result in happiness. Moana shakes her head. “Well, those attacks stop—starting today. I won’t let anybody hurt you guys, or your friends.” Branch merely nods before tilting his head to the side completely. He nods towards the direction behind the girls. “Speaking of which…” He clears his throat, indicating for them to turn around. Poppy gasps and makes her way down Moana’s shoulder, then her arm, and hops off her fingertips. “Biggie! What’re you doing here?” The blue-skinned, round-bellied troll glances from the tall woman beside his friend, then back to the latter. “I was coming to check on you. Satin and Chenille told me you were having another ‘moment’ last night.” He glances up at the human once more.“Who’s this…? She’s pretty big, but she doesn’t look like a Bergen.” Poppy smiles and waves her hand nonchalantly. “Oh, her? Psht! She’s just a new friend of mine!” She steps back until she’s standing by the other’s feet. “Biggie, I’d like you to meet Moana.” He nods slowly, still uncertain about the situation. He notices Moana’s expression growing lighter and lighter, as a giant smile creeps its way onto her face. Biggie raises an eyebrow as he addresses Poppy once more. “Is she okay?” The pink trollette looks to her tall friend and laughs heartily. “Oh, she’s fine; Moana just loves trolls! Did you know that she didn’t think we were real? Crazy, right?!” He merely gulps in response, waving up to the girl sheepishly. Moana waves back before kneeling down lower and offering her pinky finger out to him. “It’s nice to meet you, Biggie.” He tentatively shakes her digit as if he’s shaking someone’s hand (who is, of course, thrice his size). “Likewise…” Poppy smiles as she glances back and forth between the two. “Well! The three of us were just about to walk around for a while. Care to join us?” Biggie shakes his head rather quickly. “No, thanks. I, uh, just remembered I have to talk to DJ Suki about something, so, uh, I-I’ll see you later!” He waves before abruptly dashing off. Moana looks to Poppy in worry before the latter smiles up at her. “Don’t worry, he seems to like you!” The two girls, along with Branch – who begrudgingly agreed to come along – make a couple of rounds on the outskirts of the village. Moana tries to include the sulking troll into their conversations, but he simply gives her a look every time she offers. After a few moments of hesitation, she’ll then shrug and just turn back to Poppy, continuing as if he isn’t there. “I have an idea,” she says suddenly. “Why don’t we go for a swim?” Branch scoffs before adding his commentary. “Jesus, what’s with you and your liaison with water?” Moana shrugs, feeling she’s grown familiar enough with both trolls to show them her sassy side. “Well, it’s certainly more welcoming than you’ll ever be.” Maybe it’s because his attitude reminds her of Maui’s in some aspects; she just can’t help but retaliate in moments like these. “Anyway, it’s a really sunny day out, so I thought, ‘why not?’ Y’know?” The male troll shrugs with an automatic roll of his eyes as he marches down to the sand. Moana takes off into a sprint, briefly followed by Poppy, and eagerly dives into the river. What starts out as light treading against the occasional waves has now become a water fight. Poppy and Moana giggle as they shove the shimmering aqua pura back and forth towards one another, unaware of Branch’s frequent glances. His cheeks burn an even darker blue than they had the other day as his mind comes up with scenarios he knows better than to bring into mention.Poppy starts to get out, wringing her hair dry along the way, when the liquid around her starts to bubble. Her eyes grow wide at the sight, brow furrowed as she curiously watches. It even begins to glow brightly. Unable to take her eyes off of the sight, she mumbles out Branch's name, who surprisingly can hear her from where he's standing. Moana glides over and tilts her head in curiosity. The water around the two starts to warm as the bubbles grow higher."Ah," Poppy stammers as she gently waves her arms back and forth, in order to stay afloat. "What's happening?" She looks over to her male friend helplessly. "Branch?!"By the time he decides to dive in, Poppy is already neck-deep in the water. She gasps and begins to thrash slightly, as though something has got a hold of her. Moana is about to come to the rescue when her friend is suddenly sucked under the surface. Branch is forced down after her, much to his own dismay."Poppy, Branch!" Moana dives down, only to be shoved back by the river's rapids. She gasps for air too soon and results in having her lungs filled with water. It's just like the first night she was sucked into the vortex all over again, but this time it is her friends who are in worse danger than she. "Guys!" Moana cries out as she torpedoes her way over the water's crest, bobbing up and down. She glances around frantically and pants heavily. "BRANCH! POPPY!" The young woman quickly dives back under to avoid being forced that way by the powerful tidal waves.Her heart begins to sink at the thought of the little trolls disappearing without a trace for good. In the midst of her mental breakdown, she tilts her head upward to see the clouds turning a stormy grey overhead. She squints her eyes and proceeds to search through the water while she still can, despite the liquid making her vision grow murky. Moana sees two separate glowing beams of light and swims down towards them. They start to blind the girl, forcing her to turn her head, but she still pursues this mystery.
I'm not losing them. Not here, and definitely not now!
Bubbles begin to consume the undertow and roughly jerks Moana around until she's found her way onto the shore. She coughs and sputters, trying to catch her breath, as she sprawls out on the sand. It isn't until she slowly turns her head when she lets out a scream.A pair of frightened pink eyes are staring right back at her.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Moana ceases her screaming, her own hand now covering her mouth. She stares at the pink-haired girl with a mixture of horror and confusion. Quickly propping herself up by her elbows, the Polynesian starts to scoot away in case of defense.“Moana?” The stranger slowly rises to her feet, only to stop when she realizes she’s towering over the latter. “What’s going on?”It suddenly clicks; embarrassment flushes throughout Moana’s body. How could she not have been able to tell before? “Poppy?!”“I-it must’ve been something in the water,” the young woman, who was formerly a female troll, reasons, more to assure herself than anything else.She glances down at her pink-polished nails. Everything about her is the same, except for a few key exceptions, being that her hair no longer sticks up like a beehive; her nose and ears are half the size they were previously; and, lastly, she’s just about the same height as Moana. Then, something else – seemingly more important – dawns on her.“How do I look? I-I mean…” Poppy verbally stumbles to find the right words. “My weight: is it bad?”Moana shakes her head and stares in disbelief. If anything, the troll-turned-human has got a few more curves in certain places than she does. The sight stirs up some momentary envy, but it dissipates the second another figure rises between them. They surface from under the sand. Moana can already tell there’s going to be a major height difference compared to her and Poppy, only not one she was expecting prior.“What. The hell. Just. Happened.”The grumbled tone can only belong to that of Branch. Poppy kneels to her friend’s height and brushes the sand off of his sitting form. She gasps, clearly taken aback at the way he looks now. Dark locks fall over half of his face, stopping just above the bump of his nose. Branch tentatively lifts his hair up out of his eyes and keeps it pushed back. This action reveals a pair of grey-blue eyes, accompanied by dark circles that have already decided to make themselves at home underneath, and—Holy hell, that is one chiseled jawline, Moana mentally notes, whistling aloud without initial realization. Even once she catches onto what she’s done, her following words are nowhere close to an apology. “Damn, you look good as a human.” Poppy, who’s still speechless from the sight, nods in agreement.Branch furrows his thick brow. “Um, hang on—I look good as a what?! Is that what all that bubbly, glowing bullshit was about?!” He rushes towards the river and glances at his reflection. His hands immediately smack over his pale cheeks as he gasps. “No fucking way!” When he turns to face the girls again, they’re both staring at him expectantly. “What the hell, I don’t understand – just – fuck – WHY?!” The pale male growls and turns back around to kick at the water. Unfortunately for him, those actions happen to be in vain, as he slips and falls right on his tailbone. He curses loudly, ignoring Poppy’s wincing (who, when in a better mood, isn’t typically a huge fan of profanity).Moana helps Branch up and he immediately jerks his arm out of her reach, shooting her a glare. She slightly jumps back in surprise.He screams, “This is all your fault, you BITCH!”Poppy exclaims with immediate anger, “BRANCH!”Moana furrows her brow and shoves against the raven’s chest roughly. “How exactly is this all my fault?! I didn’t ask to be brought here; I am not to be held responsible of what the water decides to do to you!” She shoves him again, storming closer as he stumbles back some more. “I am here because the other river’s vortex in the other dimension dragged me away! I never wanted to be taken away from my island, yet here I am, arguing with a goddamn midget--”“Moana, shut up!” Poppy hisses with a warning tone.Now she’s turned on the latter. “Um, no, Poppy, I’m not just going to shut up! Y’know why? It’s because I’m sick of this disrespectful ke kanaka naaupo following you wherever you go! His nasty-ass attitude ruins the moments that we share together! If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume he’s your jerk-off ex!”Poppy raises her brow, feeling a conglomerate of emotions. She glances back and forth between her two friends. The poor young woman isn’t sure if any words will mend this situation. Instead, she simply runs off into the forest, out of sight. Moana and Branch call after her, but the girl is out of earshot.Dawn has turned to dusk. Poppy has not moved from her hiding spot in the tree Moana once slept under. Tears well up in her eyes, clouding her vision as snot runs down her nose; she’s freezing cold, but refuses to find warmth. She isn’t in the mood to be found by those two—not yet, at least. Given the damage they’ve done, it only feels right that they go their separate ways for now. She pulls her knees up to her chest and rests her forehead against them.“Poppy, is that you up there? Are you alright?”She sits up straight in response to her name being called from a familiar accented voice. As excitement overstimulates her system, the pink-haired girl swings until she’s hanging upside-down. Her legs are tucked tightly against the tree…branch… Poppy giggles to herself at her own silent pun.“Creek, is that you?” She angles her torso just so until she can twist and grab onto the tree’s trunk. She slides down and lands onto the grass below once her arms are wrapped around it. “What’re you doing here?” Realizing she’s no longer his size, Poppy has to look further down. That’s when it hits her. “How did you even know it was me up there?”He simply smiles and pats her ankle. “Come with me.”With a shrug, she does as she’s told. They make their way back towards the beach. This triggers flashbacks of the fallout Moana and Branch had with one another. The pinkette quickly shakes her head, trying to force away the thoughts.
Now isn’t the time to think about this. Creek wants to show me something. Just focus on the now and worry about the aftermath later.
The peaceful troll dives into the river without a word, and then, just like before, the liquid starts to bubble and glow. Poppy’s eyes widen as her jaw drops for the second time this week. She’s not only mesmerized by how much more beautiful it looks (when she isn’t six feet under), but is amazed by how this doesn’t seem to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. If this body of water can transform anybody into something they aren’t, then there’s undoubtedly some magic stored within it.A few moments pass as the river gradually grows as still as it had been previous. Shortly after, an incredibly handsome young man emerges. Poppy is blown away once again by the sight. Creek grins at her as he pulls his wavy green hair back into a loose bun that sits atop his head. He moves closer to her while she watches as water drips from his abs. She can’t help but bite her lip upon further inspection, noticing the trail of body hair that leads down to a place she can only fantasize about. He continues walking until he’s almost closed every inch between them. The two of them are locked by each other’s gaze. His eyelids slowly shut as he leans his head towards her with his lips pursed. She gulps and closes her own eyes while anticipating for incoming warmth.“Wake the fuck up.”Poppy’s eyes fling open as her eyes meet with a pair that’s squinting back down at her. They’re more of a blue-green color with the moon shining just above his head like this. Despite the view from two gorgeous things, she is nonetheless miffed that Branch has interrupted her dream. She sits up and groans.“Moana…where is she?” Glancing around, Poppy already knows that the mentioned girl won’t be stepping foot on this beach for a while. Everything after the argument was all in the former troll’s head, though she wishes she’d dreamt all that occurred before it as well.I mean, except for the transformation, she muses silently. I don’t mind that part at all.Branch shrugs carelessly. “I’ve got a gut feeling she won’t be gone for long, though.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Hey! Ya just gonna sit on your ass half-asleep all day? Don’t cha think it’s about time to rise and shine?”Moana rubs the sleep from her eye and lets out a yawn. Her sight is immediately assaulted by bright colors and her sense of smell is overpowered by the scent of multiple sweets. She groans in protest and tilts her head up, looking at the figure that’s providing as shade of some sort, though there’s no sun to be seen. The only thing that’s allowing any more light into this place are the glass-stained ceilings up above, which seems to be dripping with…something. It lands on the tip of Moana’s nose, prompting her to swipe it off and sniff. Just like everything else around her, it’s smells sickeningly sweet.“Hello…?” The figure speaks again, their physical attributes blocked out by the heightened amount of bright colors in the area. “Aren’t you gonna be a lady and introduce yourself?” Her voice is raspy with the occasional slur.Moana pushes herself up against the surface behind her until she’s risen to her feet. Now that she can see the other person more clearly, she feels more inclined to introduce herself. “My name is Moana. Who might you be?”The latter, who’s evidently female, snorts as she takes a sip of some strange green liquid in a martini glass. “Name’s Vanellope. You can call me V or ‘Nella or whatever you want for short.” She gestures a free open hand to their surroundings, turning so that her back is towards Moana. “I dunno where you came from, but this is where I live—well, technically. It’s my hometown, I guess.” She glances back at her with a drunken smirk. “I’m guessin’ you’re not from around here, otherwise ya wouldn’t be lookin’ so fuck’n confused.” She chuckles before continuing. “Well, I’mma tell you where ya are.” Taking a few steps back, Vanellope spreads her arms wide open. “Sugar Rush!” Again, turning back to Moana, she adds with a barely audible mutter, “Although the longer ya stick around, the sooner you’ll come to find out there ain’t nothin’ sweet about this goddamn place.”Moana examines Vanellope with her eyes alone—stance, facial response, tone of voice – the whole nine yards. She tilts her head with a slight squint of her eyes. “How old are you?”The raven-haired girl mimics the latter’s expression. “Seventeen goin’ on eighteen. Why?”The Polynesian female furrows her brow as she glares towards the drink in her hand. “Isn’t that alcohol?”Vanellope glances from side to side in a sassy way before rolling her eyes. “What’s your point? Is it ‘cause I’m underage?” She lets out a scoff. “I just said I’m turnin’ seventeen soon. Jesus, lady, get your panties out of a wad.”Moana can’t help but visibly huff at the snarky remark. “Um, excuse me, I’ll have you know that my panties are firmly snug around my waist, thank you very much. Anyways, you look a whole lot younger than you let on…you even act that way, too.” She cocks a brow. “You sure you’re really seventeen?”“Ugh, fuck, why do you ask so many fucking questions, lady?!” Vanellope groans in annoyance as she tilts her head back, bending her knees to add more dramatic flair to her exaggerating. “I’m just a late bloomer, that’s all! What, you wanna check my tit size next or something’?! This is as big as they’re gonna get!”Now it’s Moana’s turn to re-wrap and re-gift the sass. “Didn’t you just say you were a late bloomer, though…?”“That isn’t the point!” The latter spits back. “Anyway, how did ya get here? You’re clearly not from any of the other video games; I woulda seen you before otherwise.”The brunette runs her fingers through her curls absentmindedly as she gradually starts to admire the view behind the other girl. Forgetting she’s even been asked a question, Moana steps towards the edge of the red-and-white-striped cliff and continues to gaze out over what she can only guess is Vanellope’s “city”. There are more striped roads along the way, almost like a race track, which circle around tiny houses that are randomly spotted everywhere. She inhales deeply as she’s just now gaining appreciation for this change in environment. “Hello, Earth to hottie...”Moana whips around rather quickly, stunned by the random compliment. “Huh? Sorry, what were you saying?”“Not saying,” Vanellope corrects her pointedly. “Asking—I was asking how you got here.” Even after the latter gives a half-hearted shrug, she only continues to prod. “Where are you from, originally? There aren’t too many people with a skin tone like yours.”Considering it as another compliment, Moana straightens her posture as she strides back to her original spot. “I’m from the island of Motunui.” Then, to add on some extra sass, she flips her curly brown locks over her shoulder with a dramatic sigh. “You’ve probably never heard of it.”Vanellope shrugs with a face that reads: I could care less. “You’d be right about that. I’ve barely stepped foot outside this place since I was eight.” She then glances from side to side swiftly before holding out the martini glass to her new friend. “Want some?”Moana stares at it cautiously. “What is it?”“Ah, c’mon, pussy, it’s green apple—one of Sugar Rush’s finest!” She waggles it slightly as her smirk slowly returns, while adding in a sing-song voice, “Ya know ya want it…~”Finally giving in, Moana Waialiki takes her fist sip of alcohol. She rolls onto her side in the small guest bed, which Vanellope had quickly made up for her earlier. With a deep sigh, she tries to close her eyes and drift into a peaceful slumber. The tranquil moment doesn’t last long as a sudden reminder knocks on the back of her brain.
Shit, Poppy and Branch! I never got to say goodbye!
Moana rustles her way out from under the fluffy blankets and rushes down the short, chocolate-covered hallway. She barely gets to the door before a rasped, exhausted voice calls out to her.“Hey, where’re you going? It ain’t even morning yet…”With a soft sigh, already feeling guilty about leaving another friend behind, she turns back around and swiftly walks towards the bed the raven is laying in. “I ended up here without any recollection on how I got here. All I can remember is that there are some people back at my previous destination who I never got the chance to bid farewell.”Vanellope slowly sits up and leans against the headboard with a gentle yawn. “But ya don’t have to leave right now, right? You can go tomorrow—or even later in the week.” Barely being conscious of her own actions, she leans over and lazily wraps her arms around Moana’s bare waist. “Stay here for now. I’ll even come with ya whenever you’re ready to head back.”The brunette politely de-attaches herself from the still-intoxicated girl. “That’s the thing: I’m ready to go tonight—right now.” Moana starts to prepare herself on finding a way back, pointedly ignoring the latter’s persistent whining. “But I won’t be gone for long.” Though she know this isn’t necessarily true, considering the fact that she’s not in control of where these vortexes take her.Something in the way Vanellope’s milk chocolate eyes tells Moana that she can see right through her deceitfulness. “Nu uh, nope, no way, I won’t allow this. I’m comin’ with ya and there’s no way in hell you’re gonna stop me.Obviously not…With one last sigh, Moana gestures for the girl to follow her. “Fuck it; let’s go.”The two of them venture through the darkness of Sugar Rush. They stop abruptly when a glowing light catches their attention. The wind blowing around it causes them to shiver, but they continue to find themselves drawn to it. Moana gives Vanellope an affirmative nod when she eventually glances back at her as a means of forcing herself to look away. The two hold hands tightly as they brace themselves before leaping into the awaiting tunnel of light.
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Moana sits up as she spits grains of sand out of her mouth. She brings her hand to her lips and wipes the remaining bits off. Relief washes throughout her body once she realizes she’s succeeded in teleporting to the right place. However, a sudden wave of worry hits her. Where the hell has Vanellope gone?!“V?!?” Moana looks around frantically, pushing some straying curled locks out of her sight. “Where are you?!”“There’s no need for you to yell,” comes an accented voice below.She aggressively leaps in surprise and immediately glances down.The brunette lets out a sigh. Oh, good, it’s just another Troll… “Sorry about that.” She waves sheepishly. “Hi, there, what’s your name?” She leans over to get a better look at the green-haired creature.He does nothing but stare at her with a dumbfounded expression for a moment. He quickly remembers being taught that it’s rude to stare so openly at others. The troll clears his throat and steps closer. “My name is Creek. May I ask for yours?”Moana tilts her head and offers a soft smile. “Creek… I like it. I think it’s cute.” She pretends not to notice the way his cheeks flush. “I’m Moana.”He bows respectfully. “Well, Miss, I am ever so pleased to meet you. Mind if I ask what a beauty like you is doing in a place like this?”If the young woman feels disturbed by the fact that a troll is flirting with her, she doesn’t dare let it show. After all, they just met, and she doesn’t want him to feel like his company is not wanted. “Actually, I’ve already been here before—but then I left, and now I’m back. I forgot to say goodbye to some friends.”Now it’s Creek’s turn to tilt his head. “Really? You have friends here?” The remark might sound like it’s been forcibly bitten out, but – again – Moana doesn’t draw attention to it. Thus realizing how rude the wording of that question might have come off, the small individual corrects himself. “What I mean is: you’re a human. Not many of your kind stumble across this area. In fact, you just might be the first.”Moana raises both eyebrows as she’s intrigued by this idea. “Well, I must say that it’s definitely an honor.” She waves a dismissive hand, not wanting to allow herself to drive further off track from her mission. “Sorry to be so abrupt, but do you happen to know a girl by the name of Poppy?” Moana pointedly doesn’t bother to mention Branch, as she’s still miffed about their recent fallout.Creek’s eyes light up slightly, though it isn’t at the mention of the name. He can’t keep himself from mentally noting how smooth the young woman’s lips move as she speaks. Even as he proceeds to examine her physically features, the young male troll responds with effortless charm."As a matter of fact, that name does ring a bell. She's a good friend of mine." He never once stops smiling. "Are you looking for her?"Moana nods. "Yeah, she'd be the friend I'm coming back to say goodbye to."Creek puts on the perfect puppy pout when the word "goodbye" flows from her mouth. "Why are you leaving again?"Why does it matter to you? She wonders to herself. We just met, anyway. Still, she remains polite throughout the conversation. "I mean, technically I don't have to go after this, but I've got another friend to find and meet up with again soon."The troll nods. "Fair enough. I will help you find Poppy, then."A thought strikes through Moana's brain before they get moving. "Uh, actually-- I'm not sure if you'll be able to really recognize her. She's, er, changed--like, a lot."Creek cocks a brow curiously. "What sort of change are we talking about here?"Moana chuckles awkwardly. "It's definitely physical." When a horrified expression briefly sprints its way across Creek's face, she adds, "Not in whatever way you're thinking of! It's just that, well, she's turned into a human now, too.”"I'm sorry?" He snickers softly. "How is that even possible?"Without saying a word, the latter gestures towards the river behind her. "Try it out for yourself."Creek cautiously looks from the water to her, then back to the former. Slowly, he makes his way toward the river's edge. He slides one foot forward and feels a cold, electrified tingle rattle his ankle. He jerks his stubby appendage back in shock. Creek glances up to Moana with fear woven throughout his features."Go on," she urges, waiting. If it's one thing she can't stand, it's when anyone doubts her words—even if the experience hasn't happened to her in particular.He sighs and faces forward once more. With his eyes closed, Creek jumps high into the air and dives right in. A moment of silence passes as Moana waits for the outcome. Her eyes widen in wonder, though she's already seen this before, at the sight of the water bubbling and glowing a neon red. She leans forward a bit and squints to get a better look. The figure that was once small is now writhing beneath the surface as the river gradually clears within the center of this transformative whirlpool. As soon as she's able to catch a glimpse, the water then grows dim, and silence re-envelopes the air."...Creek...?" Did he die?He suddenly bursts out from beneath the rippling liquid. A flurry of green hair has fallen over his face, making it impossible for Moana to tell just what else has changed about him. The improvements in his body have become apparent as soon as Creek crawls out of the river. His back muscles tense as he continues sliding his way across the sand. He flops over, face-up, and pants heavily. Moana kneels down beside him and pushes the strands of neon locks from his face. She gasps and lets them fall back over.Goddammit, he's gorgeous, too, she curses to herself, with the thought of the other former male troll in mind.His lavender eyes are only open halfway as he glances to the brunette. "So? How're the end results?"Moana doesn't dare respond with anything more than a glare. The smirk on his face tells her that Creek already knows he looks damn good, no matter what.Instead, she steers the conversation back to the more important subject at hand. "Alright. Now that you've undergone this mysterious phenomenon through your own first-hand experience, I have to go find my best friend."Creek rises to his feet and dusts the sand off his yoga pants. "Relax, love. I'm still coming along—y'know, to help you out."
Whatever you say, Romeo.
"Face it, Poppy; Moana's gone, gone," Branch reassures his friend in his usual douchebagery ways. "That's it. We're never going to see her again."She shakes her head in denial as she tugs at her hot pink locks. "No way! She wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye.""You THINK she wouldn't," Branch replied. "But the fact is: that's exactly what she's done."Poppy turns to shoot him a glare, only for a familiar accent breaking the tense atmosphere to urge a huge grin upon her face."Looking for someone?"She gasps and rushes past Branch, immediately hooking her arms around Creek and Moana's waists and pulling the two close to her. The sight of the former also being human doesn't surprise her as much as one would think it should. He looks exactly the way he had in her steamy dream from the other night."God, it's so good to see you two!" Poppy squeals against their necks.Moana can't keep herself from letting out a girly squeak as she wraps her arms firmly around her figurative sister. "I missed you so much," she murmurs into her ear.Poppy steps back to get a good look at the young woman. "Where did you go, anyway?!""It's a long story," Moana groans in slight annoyance that isn't directed at the pinkette whatsoever.She shrugs. "I've got one-hundred sixty-eight hours of the week to hear all about it!" Poppy then turns to Creek and gives him another hug. "And you! It's so good to see you again!"He chuckles and pats her back amiably. "Ditto." He backs out of the warm embrace with a smile. Without so much as a glance in his direction, Creek utters, "Branch.""Creek."Poppy giggles with a playful roll of her eyes. "Good to see you boys getting along, as always!"Moana smirks to herself. Looks like she isn't the only person who isn't a big fan of Branch's asshole-y behavior.Creek merely nods in response. He glances to the pink-haired girl he's grown to know. Moana wasn't lying about her change: there's a lot going on. His eyes skim right past the mild cleavage poking out from Poppy's purple tank top. Instead, his gaze is more focused on her mid-section. Something in him insists that it's somehow OKAY for him to bring up the following: "Poppy, love, have you gained weight since I last saw you?"Branch visibly cringes for him. What kind of moron brings up a girl's body mass? Only Creek's type of casual idiocy, of course.Her bottom lip visibly trembles as she quickly turns away. "Exc-cuse me for a moment." Without looking back, Poppy jogs into the dark woods and even ignores her friends when they call after her. She turns sharply around a thinning tree and runs smack right into a stiffened figure. "Ow! Ow...""Dude, watch where you're going," rasps a voice that's foreign to the pinkette."Sorry," Poppy mumbles as she rubs her lower back. "I just have to get away for a while."A light chuckle bubbles from the shadowed stranger. "I know how that is. Here, I gotcha."Poppy feels a hand find its way to hers and yank her back onto her feet. "Thanks...""Vanellope.""That's a really pretty name."The latter scoffs with indifference. An awkward silence wedges its way between them for a few minutes before either of them speak up again. Unable to take the sound of the wind violently blowing in her ear, Poppy uses her voice to fill up the space once again."So, Vanellope, I'm guessing you're not from around here?" After barely making out the gesture of a nodding head, Poppy continues to prod. "So, then, where did you come from? Most don't even know how to get here.”The raven shrugs and proceeds to lean against the tree trunk beside her. "I just jumped into a portal with my friend and that brought us both here. Right now I can't find her, though, so I'm assumin' we got separated or some shit."Poppy's hair practically sticks up on its own as she swiftly puts two and two together. "Does this friend happen to be a young lady named Moana?" Another barely visible nod. "I just saw her not too long ago...ah, I guess I should go back and apologize for running off like that-- you can come with me!""Well, no shit," Vanellope grumbles as she lights a cigarette. The fire's glow allows Poppy to catch a brief glance at the girl's face. "What else was I gonna do, wander 'round aimlessly?" She lifts the drug to her lips and inhales slowly. Poppy waits, patient as can be, until Vanellope releases the smoke. The raven isn't even decent enough to turn her head and it blows right into the latter's face. She politely ignores it, though. "Let's go." "So, ya mean to tell me that you don't like your body?"After some lengthy minutes of Poppy venting and ranting to her new friend, Vanellope has quickly discovered that this chick has a severe low self-esteem towards her physicality, and is instantly reminded of it whenever her weight is brought up. Vanellope gives the young woman a solid once-over while she takes another drag. With a roll of her eyes, she speaks again."Dumbass. I'd kill to have a figure like yours." She shakes her head, as if she's disgusted by the concept of Poppy hating her own body. "Learn to appreciate what ya got, girly. Guys like chicks with confidence."Poppy shrugs and laughs lifelessly to herself. "What does it matter, anyway? No boy's gonna take interest in a chubby hunny like me."
I oughtta uppercut this bitch back into 1996...
"Poppy! Vanellope!" The two girls look up to see Moana running towards them.The latter's eyes slowly widen at the sight of the young man behind her friend. She feels her breath catch in her throat to the point where she forgets she's got a cigarette hanging out the side of her mouth. Vanellope momentarily chokes and sputters, but can't bring herself to even step aside and cough up the built-up ash in her throat. Instead, she continues to aimlessly gaze at the guy, unaware that drool is dribbling down her chin. Moana hardly masks the curve in her scowl at the sight as she gets closer."Mo, I'm so sorry about running off back there," Poppy whimpers and hugs the Polynesian tightly.She smiles and hugs her back. "Don't sweat it. I totally understand."Poppy pulls back to gift her friend with a grateful smile. She then turns to Vanellope while glancing behind Moana to Branch. "Hey, buddy, I gotta new friend to introduce you to.""Awesome," he mutters under his breath."Vanellope, this is Branch. Branch, this is Vanel-”"Hiiiiii, Braaaaanch," the raven drags out, a goofy smile spreading across her face.Poppy catches on right away, seeing as how this is the same look she tends to reserve for Creek. Vanellope has already got the hots for her best friend. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't bother her, but now that she's gotten a better look at the other girl, Poppy immediately feels as though she's more of a new threat than a friend. Of course, it's just because she's emotionally vulnerable right now. It's not like she's got feelings for Branch that she isn't even ready to face, or something like that. That's totally not the cause of the brewing jealousy that's eating away at this poor woman's core."Poppy?" She snaps to attention at the sound of her name and turns. Moana has a concerned expression that slowly melts into serenity. "Are you okay with hanging out by the river until we're all ready to part for sleep?" Poppy nods meekly and glances to the ground as she follows her friends.Once they've settled in, Poppy urges that there are "two certain somebodies" who need to make up over some recent drama. Without a moment's hesitation, Branch is surprisingly man enough to apologize first. Moana forgives him with not so much as a second thought, seeing as how he didn't even have to think twice about it. She then apologizes to him (though she can't exactly recall what was done wrong on her end) right back.All seems at peace until Vanellope, who - safe to say - isn't completely in her right mind at the moment, suggests that the gang play Truth or Dare. Branch immediately takes this as his cue to head off for the night. The girl's shrug and begin the game at the expense of his absence. Poppy is the first victim. This choice might have not bothered her if she hadn't so brazenly decided to tell the truth. What's making matters worse is the question that follows, presented by ever-so-high Vanellope."Who was your first kiss?"Poppy gulps quietly to herself and, not currently thinking of the repercussions that are sure to follow later, blurts out in a panic, "Branch!" The shift in Vanellope's smug expression gives the latter a sense of pride as she sits up straight, returning a smirk of her own.Moana squeals right after this news is given. "Are you serious?! Where was I when this happened!?”Poppy giggles and twirls a strand of pink around her hair. "We hadn't even met at the time. This was back when we were still dumb, lovestruck teenagers."Moana gasps, smacking her hands over her mouth. "You two were in love?!?"She nods coolly and chuckles. "Totally. But we were too scared to admit it out loud, especially Branch, of course." She lets out a convincingly dreamy sigh. "Every time I look at him, the memory always feels as though it just occurred yesterday." Poppy can't help but hug herself. Of course, while telling this white lie, who's she's really imagining being kissed by is none other than Creek. Or, at least, that what she keeps telling herself. "It's like I can still feel his lips on mine. They were so soft." She dramatically bats her long eyelashes.Feeling like she's heard enough, Vanellope gets up and leaves the scene, after letting out a hushed, "I gotta go."Moana squeaks and squeals some more, her eyes never wavering from Poppy's as her level of giddiness doubles. She's barely even registered that her other friend is heading off to bed. "I love it! God! I hope you two recreate that moment again soon."Poppy waves a hand dismissively and goes back to her usual self. "Pft, please! Branch would rather die, I'm sure of that.""Don't be so sure of that just yet," Moana quickly responds with a sly grin."Wh-- what's that supposed to mean?" Clearly, Poppy hasn't thought this far ahead. Considering that Branch hadn't been let in on this fib, she's bound to be caught soon.Instead of giving a verbal response, Moana rises to her feet and hums as she walks away, mischievously wagging her fingers at Poppy as she disappears into the dark.
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“But please don’t try to get Branch to talk about.”That’s what Poppy had begged Moana to do, who initially was listening…but seeing the guy right in an open meadow, enjoying the peace and quiet, there’s a part of her that’s persistent in digging up more details. She has to know every single thing that happened between these two at that moment. Perhaps the more she learns, it’ll become clearer as to why they have such a hardcore love-hate relationship with one another.Moana tiptoes her way towards him. Her returning giddiness deflates when he calls over his shoulder,“A) You’re not slick; B) Fuck off before I make you wish you already would’ve by now.”She rolls her eyes and steps around until she’s sitting right in front of him. With her nose only a mere inches away from his, Branch feels plenty inclined to lean back as far as possible. Seriously, what is up with these girls and not wanting to give the poor guy the personal space he’s so desperately needed this whole time?!Moana, eagerly shifting her weight from leg to leg, chews on her lip while the movement of her feet tapping back and forth causes her body to jitter. Branch does his damnedest to ignore the occasional bounce of her bust as he keeps his focused on hers. He notices the way she’s slowly starting to grin at him and immediately decides that he hates it.“What.” It isn’t stated as a question, but Moana is more than happy to engage in full conversation.She brings up the subject with a casual opening line. “So, when were you gonna tell me about you and Poppy?” He cocks a brow; when he doesn’t respond right away, she adds on. “You guys did kiss…right?”Branch narrows his eyes and furrows his brow. “No. What in Satan’s rectum makes you think we’d ever perform such a repugnant act together?”Moana didn’t budge, assuming that this is just the guy’s way of projecting denial. “C’mon, B, you don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen.”He scoffs, “There’s no ‘pretending’ about it. I’ve never kissed anyone, anyway.” His eyes widen as soon as the words leave his mouth. The brunette raises both eyebrows—not in shock—but with undivided interest. “No, no, no. You didn’t hear me say that. Nope, just go on about your day.”Her grin comes back. “Branchy-Branch still hasn’t had his first kiss…~” He visibly cringes when she slightly sings the affirmation aloud.“Can you shut up about it?!” His request comes out more bitter and gravelly than he originally intended it to be, but his glare hasn’t wavered.She waves a hand dismissively with a roll of her eyes, which is her way of saying, yeah, yeah, whatever.“I’m serious,” he growls through gritted teeth.“So am I.” Moana’s grin finally fades and she stares at the young man with a stony expression.Branch slowly crosses his arms over his chest and pouts like a little boy. “Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”She raises one hand slightly above her head, elbow bent, as her other hand rests over her heart. The girl gives a slight nod. “I promise.”This somehow isn’t convincing enough for him. “Swear on your own first kiss that you won’t leak a word about this, especially not Poppy.”“I swear on my first kiss that I won’t tell a single soul that you’ve never been kissed, including Poppy.” Of course, Moana doesn’t bother bringing up the fact that she, too, has yet to even get a kiss of her own.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Moana lets out a cross between a gasp and a scream as she jerks her body forward, colliding foreheads with Vanellope, who’s been leaning over the girl whilst she was sleeping.“Holy Demigod, Van, what is WRONG with you?!” She cries out as she rubs her already-bruised skin. “You just leave without notice for an entire day and then return out of nowhere like this?! Really!?”The raven-haired girl sighs and turns around to sit next to her. “Yeah, I’m gonna need ya to tell me how to get back home.” Vanellope continues as Moana gives a questioning head-tilt. “Don’t get me wrong, your friends are nice ‘n all, but I’m missing Sugar Rush already…” She sighs and rests her cheek against her knee. “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea t’ tag along with ya.”Moana feels a slight sting at her heart from those words, yet she’s desperate to make her friend feel better. “Hey, look—no—I totally understand. I really do; heck, I miss Motunui already.”Vanellope leans back against the palm of her hands as she tilts her head up towards the bright sky. “So what’s it like there?”“Yeah, that’s right!” Poppy chimes in out of the blue. “I never bothered to ask where you’re from or what it’s like at your home.”Moana gestures her other friend to come join them, to which the latter enthusiastically obliges, settling down on the brunette’s left side. As soon as she has both the girls’ attention, she begins, already tearing up from the memory of her home island. Gods, she misses it so much.“It’s always sunny and bright—similar to how it is here, actually. We’re always dancing and singing--”“Oh my goodness, so do we!” Poppy exclaims cheerily before being shushed by Vanellope.“Now that is something I want to see.” Moana clears her throat and continues. “So, my gramma used to love telling stories about the gods and goddesses that have blessed our world…then there’s one great man who’s the exception.” A grin spreads across her face, breaking out the cutest of dimples. “His name is Maui—demigod of the Wind and Sea, hero to all.” She sits back and sighs whilst reminiscing. “Before he was great, however, he’d stolen the heart of Te Fiti, the goddess of the Earth. When he took it from her, she’d forgotten who she really was and…transformed into something practically unrecognizable. Rather than remaining a deity who gave life, she became one that’s infamous for destroying it: lava.” Poppy’s eyes widen as she leans in, focused on the story now more than ever. “Of course, this wouldn’t do—someone had to stop Maui from causing further damage. This person had to be courageous, a little brash, stubborn, and seemingly as confident as he was. Nobody, however, determined it would be the Chief’s daughter of Motunui.” Vanellope raises an eyebrow, eyeing Moana up and down, while Poppy gasps dramatically with her hands over her mouth. “That’s right. I was sixteen at the time. My gramma’s passing words were, ‘Go.’ All my life, she encouraged me to do what I feel is right—one of those things being to face Maui and demand that he restore the heart of Te Fiti.”The pink-haired twenty-year-old leans in further, her brow furrowed anxiously. “And…did he do it?”Moana can’t help but laugh. “Not right away, no. He tricked me with a song as a distraction so he could lock me in a cave on the island he once was stranded on. Of course, I wouldn’t let him get the last laugh, so I crawled my way out of there and chased after him.” Her grin expands as her expression grows fierce. “I was relentless. It took him a run-in with the kakamora, a dip in and out of the ocean, and a tranquilizer dart to the butt for him to finally agree in returning Te Fiti’s heart to its rightful place.” Poppy, like the teacher’s pet she was formerly known as during all those Troll Lesson Session hours, raises her hand high in the air. “Yes?”“What are kakamora?” She tilts her head curiously.Moana shrugs cheekily and scrunches up her nose slightly with a mischievous facial expression. “Pirates!” She leaves out the fact of them being coconuts for dramatic effect. Poppy gasps once again while the brunette’s grin returns. “May I proceed…?” The latter nods eagerly. “Thank you. So, we’re finally beginning our journey, but Maui claims that I’ll need his help.” She pauses to scoff. “Yet without my persistence, he wouldn’t have ever gone in the first place—anyway, so, in order for him to be of any real assistance, he needed to get his hook. That’s where all of his powers were stored. After all, being gifted with only half the powers of a God, he can only do so much, y’know? So, we had to go to Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters, and face a monstrous treasure-thieving crab known as Tamatoa.” Poppy’s eyes widen as Moana presses on. “He was greedy and nasty, and Maui already knew he wasn’t about to go in there without a fight. Admittedly, the creepy crab beat him up pretty good, but I provided a distraction in order to save Maui’s behind.” As if forgetting to breath, she inhales deeply. “Then we ventured forward, faced Te Ka the lava monster, and boom, eventually got around to restoring the heart of Te Fiti.” Again, another detail she decides to leave out is the fact that Maui had abandoned her for some time, after a nasty fallout that occurred between them. She also feels it isn’t appropriate to tell a couple of girls he hasn’t even met yet about his past between his birth parents.Poppy applauds, breathless, while Vanellope snaps her fingers as if she’s in a poetry club. The pinkette rises to her feet immediately, showering Moana with hugs and ongoing praise. The latter smiles and gives her dear friend a tight squeeze. She’s rather shocked by the young lady’s following words.“You’ve GOT to take us to your home island! Also, you’ve gotta let us meet this Maui guy!”Moana’s eyebrows arch high onto her forehead as she tilts her head, baffled. “What?!”Branch finally shows up, scaring the lot as his entrance is shrouded by the loud winds overhead. “What are you girls talking about?”Poppy turns to her friend, giddily gripping his wrists and shaking them. “Moana just told her about the adventure she had with this awesome Demigod named Maui! I wanna meet him!” She turns to the girl in mention. “Do you have parents, too? I don’t wanna assume you don’t, but, y’know, sometimes that’s the case with others.” Moana nods in understanding before nodding again to answer her question. Poppy squeals and faces Branch again, who looks less than impressed, and mildly offended. “And her mom and dad! I wanna meet them, too!”Vanellope shifts in slight discomfort as she slides closer to Moana, forcing her attention away from the opposing duo. “Actually, Mo, as fun as that sounds…I still wanna head back to my home. Do you mind showing me how to go back?”The brunette rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. “Well, the thing is, I don’t actually know how to go anywhere. With the exception of last time, it’s never been my intent to teleport all over the place.” Vanellope’s face falls in disappointment, but Moana adds, “I’ll do my best, though.” After explaining to the raven all that she knew, Moana gives Vanellope a firm hug before seeing her off. She waves and watches as her friend dives head-first into the river, prompting the familiar glow to show itself. Moana squints her eyes against the blinding light until it flashes into nothing once more. She then slightly turns to Branch and Poppy. One of them looks like they’re so happy they might piss themselves, whereas the other is stone-faced.“So, I guess I’ll take you two to Motunui.” Moana faces forward as she stares into the water again, only to glance at them over her shoulder once more. “Fair warning, though: I’d say Maui is kind of an asshole. And that confidence can turn to cockiness real quick.” With a brand-new grin, she adds, “So try not to stick around him for too long.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Her lip, knee and ankle are all bruised and bleeding profusely by the time she washes upon the shore, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins overpowers her desire to seek medical attention. A familiar burly-bodied, curly-haired demigod sits by the edge of the water. He’s staring out towards the sunset as he’s bent over and petting the kind-hearted pig that lies at his feet. Moana feels tears filling her eyes as she screams his name—which, for once, isn’t out of spite.“MAUI!”He glances up, eyebrows immediately shooting upward as his brown eyes widen. A grin slowly makes its way onto his face as he starts running towards her. The young woman reaches him before he can reach her. She leaps directly into his open arms, crying over his shoulder as she happily wraps her arms around his neck. Maui holds her in an embrace that is firm yet not to the point of crushing her bones.“I missed you,” she whispers gently as she smiles through her tears.“Right back at cha,” the demigod replies before setting her back down on her feet. “Where the heck did you even go? You’ve been gone for over a week now. I was almost certain you were…” He doesn’t dare finish the thought out loud. The slight pout in his bottom lip and furrow of his brow already tells Moana that his mind immediately went to worst case scenario mode.“I know. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to return.” She wipes away her own tears after giving him another hug. Even as her sniffling eases up, the girl is initially hesitant to let go. She’s been apart from him for so long that the thought of not being around him for even one second tugs at her heartstrings. “But I’m here now and that’s what matters.” Moana finally pulls herself to stand up straight again as she smiles up at Maui. “And I’ve brought back a couple of friends of mine.”His eyes slowly wander past the beautiful young woman in front of him as his sight is now blessed by a fresh face. Her cheeks glow a bright yet soft pink to match the color of her eyes and hair. She’s got on a dress that’s made of a material even the demigod is not quite familiar with. Her complexion is somewhat tan, almost consisting of a bronze-like hue. There’s some sort of aura drifting from her—he can feel it for sure—that’s upbeat and light-hearted, though the way she slightly bites her lip at the sight of him tells a different tale, though. Regardless, Maui can admit to himself that he’s already intrigued by this other woman to the point where he hardly notices Mr. Gloom-and-Doom standing not too far behind her. Even he’s pretty damn attractive, the demigod mentally grumbles, though he know the looks of this mortal can never compare to the likes of his own.“Maui, I’d like you to meet my new friends,” Moana speaks again with a huge grin on her face. “This is--”“Brennon,” the guy says flatly, ignoring the weird looks he receives from both young ladies on either side of him. “Brennon Braxton.”The pink-haired girl doesn’t seem to catch on. “And I’m Poppy!” An elbow is roughly jabbed against her ribcage. “Er, that is, Poppy’s my…middle name…anyway?” Why doesn’t she sound all that certain about her own name? Maui asks himself while continuing to listen in. “Anyway! I go by Zemi, Zemi Daniels.” She gifts the demigod with a bright smile before adding, much to the latter’s dismay, “Brennon is his middle name—his first name is actually-”“Not important!” The latter barks out. She, too, ignores the look he shoots back at her.Maui nods in approval and shakes both of their hands, crossing over his own in order to offer different types of handshakes at the same time. The one he gives Brennon has a tight hold that’s almost bone-snapping. On the other hand (no pun intended), he’s shaking Zemi’s hand quite gently. He even smiles back at her after some time passes. Moana senses the tension between two of the three and clears her throat before speaking up again.“So, yeah, I brought these buddies of mine along with me because they were dying to see where I came from.” She smiles to the two while sneaking a look that says, You totally owe me an explanation of these bullshit names later, as she addresses her demigod friend once more. “Now that they’ve met you, I think it’s about time they meet Ms. Waialiki, don’t you?”He chuckles and offers his arm to her, which she immediately takes. With both of their arms interlocked with one another, the curly-headed duo makes their way towards the village of Motunui. Along the way, he mentions that she should clean the fresh blood off of herself so that her “mother doesn’t have a heart attack at the sight.” Moana nods in agreement as they continue up the grass-covered hill.The other pair, in the meantime, exchange glances. Branch is the first one to open his mouth, only for it to be practically zipped shut, as he hisses through gritted teeth. “Zemi? Really?!? That sounds like something out of one of your stupid Troll-tale books!”Poppy rolls her eyes while snapping back, “Well, better than your plain Jane of a name!”“That’s because I’m trying to make the concept of us being genuine humans – and not just taking form of the body types as if we’re merely inhabitants of them – believable! Just, please, could you go along with my plan for the time being?”She shrugs with a sigh. “I guess I can. I just don’t understand why you find it so important for us to lie.”Branch gives a heavier, louder sigh in return, once the other two are out of his visual range. “Don’t think of it as lying, Poppy. Or should I say Zemi. At least my human name starts with the same first two letters like my biological one!” He gives her somewhat of a rough shove when she rolls her eyes at him again. While thinking of what to reinstate what the purpose of the name change really is for, Branch runs his fingers through his dark locks. Poppy can’t help but notice that his hair is starting to take the form of loose curls, promptly due to his own time duration of being thrashed about underwater. She reaches up to touch the ends of her own hair, which has remained in its signature spiky ponytail style since she transformed. A frown replaces the curious lip-bite that was there previous. I was in the water, too, so how come I didn’t get any cool curls like him? Finally Branch speaks again, “I just don’t like the thought of a group of nonbelievers to find out that Trolls really do exist. If I can’t trust a Bergen, what makes you think I should trust a human?” Poppy raises her own hand, to which he instantly remarks, “You hardly qualify, so put that damn hand down.”She resists the urge to allow her eyes to roll into the back of her head for the third time today. “Alright, Branch. I’ll stick with your silly little plan for now. Just don’t blame me when Moana’s people end up seeing right through it.” Branch looks at her like he’d been slapped across the face. Poppy continues to stare straight ahead as she triumphantly struts ahead of him, purposely swaying her hips in a sassy manner.If he didn’t know any better, he’d almost swear that she’s starting to sound more and more like him. He’s noticed the way her tone has grown more bitter and curt, and her sentences have become dry and sarcastic the more she hangs around him. Still, he refuses to take blame. If she wants to start copping an attitude, that’s her prerogative. With this thought in mind, he begrudgingly follows her up the grassy hill to meet Moana’s mother.Sina gasps at the sight of her daughter running up the hill. She lifts the hem of her skirt slightly, baring her ankles, as she rushes towards her, just as the latter had done to Maui not too long ago. The proud mother gathers her into an embrace, sighing softly as she hugs her tightly.“How I missed you, my little minnow,” she speaks softly with her chin rested atop her head.“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Moana whimpers out, squeezing her mother harder. “I didn’t know where I was going or when I would come back.”She leans back and pushes stray hairs from her baby girl’s face. “I’m just glad to see you’ve returned unharmed.”As if on cue, Maui clears his throat. Sina glances behind Moana and flashes the kindest smile towards him. “And it’s good to see you’ve returned, Demigod Maui.” She steps beside her daughter as she outstretches her arms like she’s offering a hug. Maui, of course, assumes such and pulls the middle-aged beauty against him, hugging her. Now it’s Moana’s turn to clear her throat. God, this is just too freaky of a scene to be watching right now… Sina does as well before saying, “I was gesturing to praise you, not…” Her voice trails off and she steps back, her cheeks flushed slightly, prompting Maui to smirk playfully. Shoot, no woman alive can resist this demi-guy’s charm. “But thank you; it almost makes it seem like you’re part of the family.”He grins, arms crossed over his chest as he boasts, “Well, might as well be, Mother.” Sina directs a horrified glance to Moana, who gives her own in return. Maui bursts into laughter as he holds his hands up in surrender. “Kidding, Sina! I’m kidding! I mean, c’mon, your daughter’s gotta be at least this tall to ride-” He cuts himself off at the sight of Moana’s eyes growing into an even wider panic. “Ahem.”Mrs. Waialiki doesn’t dare bring attention to the situation that’s already made itself known. She immediately changes the subject as she nods her head forward, eyes focused on two new individuals. “Moana, are they friends of yours?”The younger woman glances over Maui’s broad shoulders to see Branch and Poppy standing in the doorway, patiently waiting. For a change, the former has a pleasant expression on his face that seems almost genuine. Then she glances to her pink-haired friend just as she mouths, ‘He’s just being polite.’ Moana nods in understanding before stepping forward and holding out one arm to them.“Mom, I’d like you to meet some really cool people I met while I was away. I present to you, P—um, Zemi and Brennon.” She smiles innocently to cover the fact that she’d nearly slipped up in giving away the duo’s true identities.Sina gives her daughter’s friends respectful handshakes. “It is a pleasure to meet you both. It’s always nice to see my little minnow making new friends.”The younger groans in protest, “Mom…” The mother teasingly bumps shoulders with her. “So, I guess they’re going to be here for a couple of days, since their home is a bit of a longer distance from here. Is there any place they can stay in the meantime?”“Of course,” Sina responds with a gentle smile. “There’s a spare guest hut a few steps away. Would you mind showing them around as well?”Moana nods eagerly as she takes hold of Branch and Poppy’s hands, urging them out the door as she skips along the grass, practically dragging them with her. The dark-haired individual suddenly jerks his hand back from Moana’s grip as if she’d shocked him. Both young women glance back at him with a questioning look as his cheeks turn a dark red.“Poppy and I aren’t sharing a hut…right? We get our own space?” He wrings his wrists as he avoids their gazes.Moana glances from one Troll-human to the other with a small shrug. “Well, no. As my mom said, there’s this one that’s available. If you’re that uncomfortable with sleeping under the same roof as your best friend, then--”“She’s not my friend,” Branch claims in a frigid tone, the grip he has on his own wrist growing tighter. “Not even close to being my best friend. She just follows me around wherever I go and it’s obnoxious.” He hardly even notices the expression of indifference on Poppy’s face.The brunette thinks nothing of the comment as she starts speaking once more. “Well, okay, whatever. If you’d prefer not sharing a space, then you can sleep on the grass, or in one of the hammocks that the villagers have built. It’s entirely up to you.”The two settle on having separate spaces while temporarily residing in Motunui. When Maui catches word of this, he takes the opportunity to his advantage. It is later that evening during the “Welcome Home Feast” that he decides in getting to know Poppy better. They talk to one another throughout the night, unaware of the occasional wandering eyes from the opposing pair. Branch glances up every now and then, from the bonfire to the two of them, all while absentmindedly sharpening a stick with one of the villager’s spears. Moana will frequently wiggle in discomfort where she sits but shows no other signs of awkwardness. They aren’t speaking to one another, as many of the people around her try to maintain Moana’s attention when striking a conversation with her. She’ll occasionally tap Maui on the shoulder, but his focus remains on the other woman.It’s when Poppy excuses herself to grab some food that allows Moana to speak up. She nudges her demigod companion and asks if he’ll walk with her along the ocean’s edge. He obliges without hesitation and the two of them escape the great feast for a while. His head tilts down at her as he cups her cheek softly. She can hardly stop herself from drawing closer to him, taking hold of his hand and placing it over her heart.
Okay, so the girl wasn’t lying when she said she’d never been kissed (much less kissed anyone herself). This didn’t mean that she’s never been involved in a relationship—it’s just never been with a mortal. Somewhere midway through their first journey together, Moana found herself quite smitten with Maui; it wasn’t until their third or fourth time saving the world when she could finally admit to herself that this was more to it than a silly little crush. She could no longer deny the way her heart would skip a beat, or how hard she’d bite her lip whenever he really looked at her, or even how her whole spirit would ache when he would fall to his lowest point. It didn’t take much longer before Maui realized the way she changed around him. He couldn’t immediately put his finger on it, but there was definitely something different about the way the girl ticked. Her verbal jabs became a little less mocking and more playful, almost flirtatious, to the point where he just had to ask her,
“Alright, what’s the deal?”
Moana suddenly started to avoid his gaze, even though he’d already been stealing glances at her for quite some time. At that time, she’d been at that awkward age between sixteen and seventeen (or, in her case, sixteen-and-three-quarters), while promptly ignoring the fact that Maui would frequently claim her to be an eight-year-old. It was mainly the vast age gap between the two of them that had kept her from being upfront for so long. The fact that he’d sometimes treat her as if she really were eight certainly didn’t help matters, either. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me; I don’t need that right now. What I do need, however, are answers.” He scooted closer to her, causing the canoe to bob up and down a bit more than usual. “What’s up with you?”
She sighed heavily before finally meeting his gaze. There was really no way for her to dodge the topic at this point. She had to come clean. “For the record, I wanna start by saying that this is initially your fault.”He can’t help but snort. “Isn’t everything my fault in your book?”
She spoke on as if he hadn’t said a word. “Maui, the truth is that I’ve fallen for you.”
The first response she got was an uncomfortable silence, which lasted for the remainder of that day. Whenever he was about to turn and face her, he caught himself and shut his mouth again, only to turn back towards the ocean. She expected it of him; hell, she would’ve reacted similarly if the roles were reversed. In fact, she wouldn’t even still be on the canoe had he been the one who’d fallen for her first. Just as she thought that, a loud splash was heard behind her. Water jumped up to rub at her lower back and soak the tips of her curls. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Maui’s burly figure swimming underneath the surface. She sighed and shook her head as she faced forward once more. That was yet again another reaction she’d seen coming from a mile away. Oh, how typical it was of him to run – or swim – or fly – away from awkward situations. Heck, Moana would do it, too, if she wasn’t on the sorry end of the spectrum.
Several months passed before Maui decided to face her again; during that reunion, he made her a promise: to accept her feelings for him once she grew into womanhood.
Moana, who was just a few weeks away from turning seventeen at the time, also made him swear that they would neither kiss nor engage in sexual intimacy until she was at least past the age of nineteen.Given the recent events, however, even she’s been finding it hard to adhere to this vow. One of the two portions accompanied with the promise she can keep to, however, is the latter. Right now, though, Moana can feel a sense of need and desire surging through her veins. There may also be a hint of possessiveness, something that she swears she’s never experienced when around Maui before. This wouldn’t be the case if she just pretended that there wasn’t any sort of…thing…blooming between him and Poppy…but there’s definitely something there. And Moana is practically compelled to just claim what’s hers in this very moment.She rises onto her tiptoes and, with both hands firmly pressed to his cheeks, brings Maui down to her height. Before he can even ask what she’s up to, Moana crashes her lips onto his. He closes his eyes as he lifts her up into his arms bridal-style. The young woman sighs, melting into the sensation of his lips moving against hers. It’s only when she feels his teeth graze past her bottom lip that she breaks the kiss.“I love you.” Her voice barely rises above an airy whisper.Maui gives her his signature cocky grin while setting her back down onto her feet. He doesn’t say it back right away; she knows he doesn’t need to. The look in his eyes tells her that he feels the same way.“We should head back. There’s another confession I need to get off of my chest.”While these two are away – and with Poppy being preoccupied with her delicious meal – Branch has been left with lots of time to think to himself, which is the last thing he actually wants to do at this very moment. He doesn’t get to stir in silence for much longer once the new chief and her demigod friend return.“I am Moana of Motunui,” she declares in a serene yet authoritative tone. “These are my friends, Branch and Poppy.” Both flinch towards the use of their real names, the former included. “They are not truly human, though the waters I’ve traveled through possess magic which allow them to.” She glances down at her friends with a trace of a smile. “They were born as Trolls, which were creatures I’m aware none of us actually believed existed…yet they do…far, far away from any human life.” Moana forces down her anxiety with a gulp as she presses on and gestured an open hand down towards the dark-haired, light-eyed individual beside her. “Branch, the one sitting on my left-hand side, was afraid that we wouldn’t take kindly to this truth; in reality, he has absolutely nothing to worry about.” Moana gazes back to her people, immediately meeting her mother’s wary gaze. “All the Trolls that I have met are not all that different than we are. Like true humans, they live day to day in fear, yet many of them make the most of the lives they’ve been given on Earth. We can find ourselves in one another and live together in harmony.” The young chief blinks several times. She can feel her heart thumping against her ribcage as the words flow through her mouth so naturally. “I want to make sure my friends here – as well as their friends – remain under unwavering protection among the people of Motunui…which is why I have decided that they ought to live alongside us on our island.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chenille frantically shakes her sister by the shoulder, waiting until her eyelids flutter open. Once they do, she starts dragging Satin towards the front door to their house. The pink-toned sister yanks her wrist from the latter’s grasp.“Whoa, what’s the deal?!”The blue-skinned sibling turns towards her other half, bumping against her due to their conjoined hair. “We haven’t heard from Poppy in days, Sis! Doesn’t that bother you in the slightest? God knows what might’ve happened to her! I haven’t even seen Branch around, either.”Satin furrows her brow and rolls her eyes pointedly. “So? Good riddance to him. Besides, if anyone should know about Poppy’s recent whereabouts, it’s got to be either Biggie or Creek. Why don’t we check with them just to be sure?”Chenille nods as she takes one deep breath after another. “Right, of course, I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe Poppy and Branch are just on some sort of adventure together.” Her conjoined twin merely gives an irritable scoff in response as they hustle out of the house and out towards the “party grounds”. Once they reach their destination, the former sibling is the first to call out to Guy Diamond, who’s currently talking to Creek beneath a mushroom. “Guy, have you seen Poppy around lately?” When he shakes his head, Chenille feels anxiety rush through her bloodstream all over again. “That’s not good…” She glances to the latter. “How about you, Creek? Any word from the girl who’s been seriously crushing on you since she was eight?” She gasps, just barely catching herself when Satin roughly nudges her elbow against her ribcage.Creek, ever the gentleman, smiles kindly as if she’d never spoken a word of her best friend’s secret. “I’m afraid not, Love. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen Poppy lately, either. The last time I saw her was about four days ago.” He rushes along his words upon seeing the twins’ distressed expressions. “But how’s about I help the two of you look for her? Would that be alright?”The girls nod in unison while saying, “Check the beach.”Guy Diamond follows the three of them, being uncharacteristically quiet. Satin can sense some sort of tension between the two, but she decides not to bring it up at the moment. She stores the thought away for now while reminding herself to ask about it later.Just as the small group reaches the outskirts of their village, they notice a familiar pink-haired individual. The Twins sigh in relief and immediately make their way towards the girl who was just previously M.I.A. Creek raises an eyebrow before furrowing it. He notices that Poppy – like himself – is now in her original Troll form. How, though, is the question that starts fogging its way through his mind. Perhaps exiting the beach’s body of water has a reverse effect from what entering it can do to a Troll—or any nonhuman, for that matter. It also dawns on Creek that the Twins and Guy don’t notice anything out of the ordinary about their dear friend, meaning all this time they never knew about her being at an astounding 5’6 just before she disappeared.“Hey, guys!” She chirps happily as she hugs her buddies tightly. “I won’t be sticking around for long, but I need you all to come with me.” Her eyes land on Creek and her friendly demeanor dissolves ever so slightly. “I mean, these three can…not entirely sure if you’d wanna tag along.” Of course, she’s still bitter about the comment he’d made regarding her body mass. No matter how cute he is, this is a matter Poppy won’t be so quick to let slide.Creek shrugs, leaning against the palm tree behind him. “That depends on you, Love. Do you want me to go with you guys?” When she shrugs indifferently, accompanied with a blank expression, he tries her best to give an apologetic yet charmingly innocent smile. “I won’t go unless you want me to.”“Yeah, he should come with us!” Chenille chimes in, while remaining unaware of the dagger eyes Poppy is sending toward the male Troll. “Where are we going, anyway?”Poppy smiles to her and Satin as she replies, “It’s a little island known as Motunui, where Trolls and humans can co-exist in harmony.” The girls and Guy Diamond tilt their heads at the pinkette quizzically. “It’s a long story, but you’ve just gotta trust me on this, okay? I made a new friend not too long ago. She’s currently the chief of this island and is also the one who declared this new societal rule.” She beams brightly. “Branch is there already. The two of us left with her earlier today.” When sensing the hesitant looks on her friend’s faces, she continues. “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it. C’mon, she’s the sweetest girl; you’ll love her!Creek’s ears perk up as his eyes lift from the sand and towards the lake’s glistening waves. She must be referring to that dark-skinned girl I met not too long ago. He grins at the memory of Moana while walking closer to the rest of the group. Maybe I’ll go with them, after all…Satin exchanges a peculiar glance with Chenille before finally speaking. “Okay, we’ll check this place out.”Poppy squeals with excitement as she hugs the two. “You guys won’t regret it, I swear!” The wind rolls through the individualistic hairs on Poppy’s head just as she steps onto the sandy shores of Motunui. She automatically reaches behind her head and grabs hold of her pink locks, tying them up into a high ponytail. Her irises sparkle at the familiar sight; she already feels like this is her home now.Part of her is relieved that Creek had decided to stay behind at the last minute, ‘cause Lord knows what she might’ve done if she saw him (once again) standing at 6’4 with those vibrant turquoise sea-green locks and brilliant lavender eyes. She still finds it odd that Guy Diamond chose not to tag along, either; then again, he’s been acting so different lately. Poppy stores away her thoughts about those guys and focuses on the friends who are emerging from the water right behind her.Glancing over her shoulder, she sees the apparent change – not to mention increased appeal – in the Twins’ appearances and immediately squeals with delight. The sight of their identical rose-colored cheeks surprises Poppy, considering the fact that they look even less alike than they had as Trolls – with the exception of their matching hair colors. Their makeup has been inevitably smeared due to getting in contact with water, but they still look so goddamn gorgeous!“Ah, you guys are SO pretty!” Poppy gushes while trying to force down a new wave of envy.Chenille grins at her friend. “Puh-lease, girl, like you’re one to talk; you look like an angel!”Satin chimes with, “A pink-haired angel, that is.”Poppy giggles excitedly just as Moana calls out her name. She grabs the sister duo’s hands and leads them up the miniature grass-covered hill. “She’s the girl I was talking about. She’s also got a smoking-hot guy friend that I want you both to meet, too!”Moana overhears the comment she’s made about Maui, cocking a brow slightly in response. Not that she can see her facial reaction, anyway, as she’s still facing her other friends, but still. It’ll be quite the challenge for Moana to break the news to Poppy that Maui is no longer available to other women. She doubts the girl will mind, anyway; after all, she hasn’t even known the guy for a full day yet. She’d get sick of him as quickly as Moana does from time to time.“Moana, I want you to meet my friends. These are the Twins, Satin and Chenille.” Poppy steps aside, to give all three of her friends a better look at one another.The brunette beams brightly at the two. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m Moana Waialiki.” She tilts her head slightly. “Do you two intend to stay here with Poppy and Branch?”Chenille hardly notices her sister flinch beside her while she finally speaks. “Stay—you mean, like, do we plan to live here?” Moana nods patiently and begins to smile again, though the wary look that the other twin is giving makes her feel on edge. “Well, I dunno. The rest of the group wasn’t given the chance to be told about this; in fact, we don’t even know where the others are. Guy stayed behind and so did Creek.”The latter’s eyelids almost fall completely over her eyes at the mention of the familiar Troll’s name. Memories of his unwarranted flirtations start flooding her mind. “I’m sure they’ll come around. In the meantime, I’d like to show you two around. Poppy, wanna tag along?”The pink-haired girl bobs her head up and down in the form of an eager nod as she grins widely. “You know it!” She starts skipping only to stop and look around. “By the way, Mo, have you seen Branch?”The latter shakes her head as she turns to face Poppy and the Twins, now walking backwards toward the village. “No…truth be told, I actually thought he’d gone with you. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Maui around today, either.”“Maybe they finally decided to put their differences aside and have some guy time,” Poppy suggests with a tone of hope.Moana tries not to scoff at the absurdity of this idea. Like Maui would ever put his ego aside to hang out with some loner Troll-Boy. She merely settles for a headshake and turns back around. “They’ll show up on their own time. That’s just how—well—Maui is, anyway. If the two really are hanging out together, maybe your friend has started taking up his habits.”Poppy giggles and glances beside her to give the Twins a nostalgic grin. “Don’t worry; Branch is already equipped with those mannerisms. I’m sure men do it as often as women do.”“I don’t know about you, Twin,” Chenille pipes up. “But I say it’s always better to show up fashionably late than early with an unforgivable outfit choice.” Satin nods in agreement, settling only for physical gestures, which Chenille picks up instantly as off behavior, even for her sister. Hell, she’s been acting like this since she was woken up. Deciding to make up for her other half’s silence, she continues. “So, Moana, who is this Maui guy you and Poppy keep mentioning?”Moana slows her steps down once she and the other women arrive smack in the middle of the village. “Well, he’s a demigod, and we’ve also been frenemies for about two years now.” Her words don’t bother betraying her body’s response when talking about him. “Although, between that span of time we’ve started becoming closer…”Poppy gives her friend a look of suspicion, only for Satin and Chenille to cast their doubts aside. Now the former is interested in opening her mouth. The Twins cry out in unison, “You’re an item?!” When Moana gives the two a confused expression, Satin elaborates. “Y’know, dating! Are you and this demigod together?”The young chief absentmindedly twirls a few brown curls around her fingertips. “Well, yes and no. I mean, we definitely have romantic feelings for each other, but it’s not something I think he’d want me to put a label on without his knowledge.”“Ohhhhh,” the three girls reply, drawing out the word together. Satin, however, doesn’t seem to want to let this opportunity slip away, as she continues to harp about it. “So, like, is it an open relationship, then?” Moana shrugs. “It seems fitting for, y’know, a demigod, I guess. I wouldn’t peg you as the type of girl to be okay with your boyfriend pandering with other women.” She then shrugs in return. “But, y’know, to each their own, I guess.” Without hearing a response from the latter, Satin saunters on ahead of the crew, causing Chenille and Poppy to exchange wary glances.“Almost sounds like she was speaking from experience,” the pinkette notes aloud, only to get a solid nod of affirmation from Chenille. “Wait, really?! Who on Earth has gathered the guts to date your sister? I mean, no offense or anything, but she tends to be a bit of a…”“Bitch?” Poppy flinches at the word, but nods solemnly before Chenille presses on. “Believe me when I tell you that I genuinely wonder who she gets that from.” With a flip of her hair, she steps forward so that she’s now walking between Poppy and Moana. “She doesn’t like when I talk about her past experiences in love, if that’s even what you would call it, so it’s best that I go by her wishes and keep hush on the matter.” She glances to each of the girls with a gentle smile. “I’m sure she’ll open up about it when she’s ready to.”Poppy chews on her bottom lip as her eyes admire the lush plantation surrounding them. “I mean, that’s fine and all, but given how long both of you have known me, you’d think this is something she would’ve confided in me years ago…right?”Chenille shakes her head while granting her friend a saddened expression. “It’s not that simple. Satin never confessed to me about it; I had to find out on my own.” She sighs with one last shake of her head. “It was a dead-end relationship to begin with, anyway.”Moana looks to Poppy, who appears as if she’s still offended by the idea that one of her best friends has been keeping such a– or any, for that matter – secret from her. It baffles her that she’s been able to come to Satin and Chenille regarding romantic complications, but neither of them, when she really thinks back, have brought up their own. The thought of this only chews deeper into her psyche.Today, that’s going to change.