Standing close before the cage bars alone was an insane risk for a troll to take but, Spruce had a goal. He already had written his letter this morning after having Floyd proof read a draft version the night before. Actually it was just a postcard cause he couldn't get his hands on a big enough piece of paper to fill the envelope he swiped from a random Bergen. The Bergen who just threw a bunch of them up into the air just to prove a petty point. Spruce had no idea what that was about but, he got a free envelope out of it when nobody was looking.

Stamp? Checked. The Addresses? Checked. The postcard? Checked. Spruce had everything he needed to make this letter go through without drawing too much attention. Using the abilities of his hair to pick up his about to be sent mail and extend it to the tall community postbox. It was right next to the cage so Spruce didn't need to stretch his purple locks too much. Dropping the letter his hair retracted swiftly in a blink of an eye.

It wasn't too long before a mailman came by and collected every letter,even Spruce's one. Excitement fueled Spruce's sparks as a grin graced his face and his ears perked up. Boundless energy surge through his body. He had a good feeling about this new Pen Pal of his. Nobody could kill this faith installed in him right now. Not wanting any Bergens to notice how close he was to the bars, he dashed back to the tree with new found hope.

A month passed by and no sign of the response had arrived yet. Back in the pod of Brozone and Grandma Rosiepuff, Spruce was upstairs helping Floyd with his makeup. The sound of little trollings could be heard from downstairs. The kids were squealing, laughing and chatting up a storm as they played with one another. Floyd sat on the rim of the bathtub as his older brother stood in front of him. With a black eyeliner in hand, he replicated the sharp wing he drew for Floyd's left eye for the right one. It was a simple flick of the wrist.

" And there. I fixed it. You're welcome." Spruce announced.

Stepping aside to give Floyd some space, Floyd nodded his head at Spruce before getting up. Turning to the bathroom mirror the alternative teenager checked his eyeliner. Just like promised not only were identical but, sharp and neatly drawn. It blended well with the mixed together red black eyeshadow. Besides the eye makeup, Floyd also had a blend of deep sky blue and grey on his lips with a pop of lipgloss. Gasping at the final results Floyd turned around flashing his helper a grateful grin.

" Thank you! " Floyd tackled Spruce into a hug against the wall. "Thank you! Thank you!"

" Woah! Warn a guy next time,dude." Spruce laughed. " Anything for you,Flo."

A couple knocks from the closed door echoed into the room. Floyd let go of his older sibling still in a fond mood. The familiar voice of their favourite female relative traveled loud and clear to their ears. Handing back the eyeliner to its rightful owner Spruce swapped an air brush into its place. His curling purple mane could use a bit of taming.

" You boys okay in there?"

" Yup,Grandma. " Floyd opened the door. " Spruce was helping me with my makeup."

" Look at you all dolled up. Such a handsome young man." Rosiepuff pinched Floyd's cheek.

Spruce brushed his long standing locks. " Hey Grandma."

" Making yourself dashing as always I see. " Rosiepuff complimented.

She let go of Floyd's cheek then gently rubbed the spot she pinched with her thumb. Rosie's pinches were usually light when done in contexts like this. So she wasn't trying to rub any pain away. Simply just smoothing out the spot pinched to get rid of the temporary wrinkles she accidentally gave them. However this time she was also trying to blend the part of Floyd foundation cause some came off. Now it was fully blended in again like the pinch never happened.

Rosiepuff removed her hand. "Could you two be a lamb by doing me a favor? I know it's a big ask and I will be coming home sour like a stomping bunny if it turns out I came out for nothing. But, could you watch the littles for half an hour for me? I got called in by King Peppy. It's emergent. "

" Of course. " Floyd agreed.

" On it, Grandma. You can count on us." Spruce chimed.

" Oh thank you, Peachfuzzes. There's buttermilk rusks in the kitchen. Help yourselves. The kids' snacks on the counter. Love you."

Rosiepuff patted Floyd's shoulder then gave Spruce a kiss on the cheek. Her green lipstick left a faint imprint. Swiftly pulling out tissue from her hair she wiped it off then threw the issue in the nearby bin. Dusting her gentle hands off her clothing,she turned around leaving the bathroom. The two teenagers follow her downstairs where all the trollings were. There were babies,toddlers and some school age children. Branch was playing with the other toddlers in a large box that they turned into a boat.

" Love you more." Spruce and Floyd respond in unison.

" Love you lots." Rosiepuff playfully doubled down.

Meanwhile at a spontaneous book fair, Clay was looking at the nonfiction section. From books about great history that got altered to biographies and in-depth guides to specific professions. Usually Clay would read fiction,drama and tragedies but, now seeking to broaden his arisings. John stood nearby trying to be supportive by holding the four books Clay already picked out.

" Hey. Isn't that your girlfriend over there?" John teased.

John tilted his head towards Princess Viva who was excitedly picking out recipe books on baking, taking five minutes to make snacks and milkshakes. Beaming with energy as she bounced with every step and most radiant smile. Confused Clay hummed raising an eyebrow as he looked up and turned to see who John was referring to. Catching sight of his friend his face flushed with embarrassment and annoyance. Eyes widened jaw dropped,filled up his pause while John flashed him a smug grin.

" What?! Her? Viva? She's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend. " Clay panicked. "Shut up!"

John laughed. " Oh really?  Then why are you blushing? You sure you don't have a thing for princesses?"

" I-you-me and Viva-we are not- " Clay stuttered. "You're doing this one purpose."

Laughing even harder tears filled the corners of John's eyes. Clutching the books in his hands against his stomach,his laughing sourced itself from his belly. Cheeks grew sore from laughing and smiling so much. Clay's face went from turning darker blue to brightening up into a shade of purple. Eyes twitching and Cyan hands itching and somewhat shaking, Clay could feel the urge bubbling inside him to tackle his brother.

" Stop it!" Clay whispered flustered.

John heaved. " I'm just teasing. I know she's a friend. You're so easy to send up the wall."

Finally coming down from the high, John calmed down breathing slowly. His cheeks still ached and his stomach relaxed. A smug grin was impossible to wipe off his face but, he did his best to shift it into a less punch worthy smile. The books he held remained stationed and nestled in his arms.

Clay rolled his eyes. " You're impossible."

" Yup. I know that. Tell me something new." John joked. " So how did you and the princess meet anyway?"

" We share some classes in school. Life Orientation, Dance and Mathematics. We do homework together most days. I remind her about whatever homework we have or else she will forget. We first met last year when we just happened to share a English class. We were desk mates. " Clay recalled with his annoyance turning into fondness.

Picking up a random book Clay handed over to John. Taking it from his little brother the book joined the other three comfortably. All nonfiction. JD's smile grew smaller but still maintained its shape as he got lost in a thought. Seeing Clay so happy and fond of a friend reminded him of when he had that once. Before the Brozone days. Before everything changed. Before he started wearing his father's non-existent shoes at sixteen.

" If I were you I wouldn't let her go. " John advised.

" Why?" Clay questioned.

"That's how I lost my friends. Got so caught up with the band and our family. I felt like I had to give up having friends. Sure I am reconnecting with some of them now but... Don't be like me. Keep the real ones." John explained.

Clay paused at the explanation. Not sure what to say he simply nodded his head accepting the advice regardless of whether it was wanted or not. It never dawned on him this much how much John gave up. Biting down on his lip,Clay looked down at another book. Picking it up he fiddled with the sewed in ribbon bookmarker.

" I think this will be the last one. " Clay suggested. " We could catch a bite to eat before we head home. It's not like we have somewhere to be." 

" Why not?" John hummed.

Later outside the cage an Began was in the middle of doing his rounds as a mailman. Delivering letters and packages. Trying to ignore the random folks who seem to think he automatically knows everything that happened involving their mail. Not to mention the prank letters he had to deliver in odd places. He swore that sometimes someone was trying to either get him in trouble or has been giving lots of people fake addresses.

Digging into his bag he pulled out a letter but,this one was one of those Pen Pal letters. Only a handful of Vacay Islanders had agreed to this attempt of forming a friendship between two different nations. Uncommon for most Bergens when it came to their nature. However the mailman rolled his eyes and scoffed when he noticed the address. The Troll Tree.

" Why couldn't they just throw it away instead of giving a false address to some sappy teen? " The mailman shook his head.

Most Bergens weren't allowed to get too close to the Troll Tree cage. This law was enforced to prevent others from trying to slide their arms in and grab a troll. However as much as he wasn't getting paid enough to deal with what he considered an annoying unnecessary prank,he wasn't going to allow himself to get into trouble for not delivering. So while complaining underneath his breath the male Bergen placed the letter between the bars where almost nobody could see it then stormed off back to the post office.

Back in the tree Rosiepuff balled her fists with Princess Poppy in her. As much as she loved kids, the inconsiderate decision of the King of Pop Trolls was driving her mad. Normally when someone called her to come over to babysit, it wasn't a problem. However today she had a pod filled with little trollings. Peppy could have just sent someone to bring the baby princess to her instead of making her leave the kids she was in middle of being the village's official nanny for.

" Hold back your tongue,Rosie. Remember your karma. He's not thinking straight right now." Rosiepuff told herself.

Approaching her pod she pushed the door open to find Spruce running around to catch one of the toddlers. Scooping the tiny green skinned and dark blue haired glitter troll, the little one immediately dropped the spatula. That toddler was one of Branch's friends, Hype. The little one fused.

" Got ya!" Spruce announced.

"Boo!" The toddler complained.

Branch poked his head out from the box fort trying to see where Hype's voice came from. Floyd sat on the couch brushing one of the school aged girls' hair. The seven year old hummed a Brozone song unaware she was getting her hair by her favourite member. Floyd and Spruce turned their heads to the open door and smiled.

" Hey Grandma."

Rosiepuff breathed out her last bit of anger returning their welcoming expressions with one of her own. Reaching into her hair,she gently picked up and pulled out the princess from her hair. Readjusting the tiny baby into a rocking position, Rosie looked down at the giggling pink troll then at her grandsons smiling back.

" I hope they weren't too much trouble while I was gone." Rosiepuff chuckled.

" Nah. Told you that we got this." Spruce stated proud placing Hype next to Branch.