The Magic of Harmony

Realizations

John parked Rhonda in a sheltered alcove in the side of the mountain. It was shallow, but would protect them better from the elements on three sides. Rhonda all but collapsed the second John parked her, completely drained from the amount of driving and running she’s been doing these last few days. John, once again, ran out to check on her, closely followed behind by his family.

“Hey, girl. How you holding up?” John cooed to her, worry etched in his face. He had her face in his hands, rubbing soothing circles.

“Chuuuurrrrrr. Hhhhooooooo!” Runda churred and rumbled at her Troll friend. She was really tired and wanted to sleep. She nuzzled into her Troll friend, happy to have him here.

“Is she okay?” Poppy asked, hanging back with the others. She nervously bounced on the balls of her feet, hoping they didn’t hurt the poor creature.

“She’s okay, just exhausted.” John stated as he began examining her. He began by checking her heart rate and breathing. “She hasn’t run this hard in years and she’s starting to get up there in years. As far as armadillos go, that is. She needs rest, bad.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Floyd asked, wanting to help the critter. She’s such a good girl and he sees how much she means to John. It reminds him of his own Mi Mi, his bat critter that came from the same place as Barb’s bat Debbie.

“Uh, maybe…yeah. Yeah! You guys can help me make a shelter for her.” John told them enthusiastically. He looked at his brothers with a wide grin. “Whenever I stick around in a spot for a while or come back to a spot semi frequently I make a defensive shelter. Normally I would take my time weaving together brambles and thorn branches, but since this is a one night thing, possibly two, we only need something that will disguise Rhonda’s spot so she can sleep.”

“Alright, yeah. We can do that.” Branch looked around at his brothers, all nodding their heads in agreement. Poppy and Viva bounced in place next to him, eager to get to work. “Rhonda deserves a good rest, so let’s build her a nest.”

“Whooo!” Poppy and Viva cheered, both racing off into the forest behind them. Branch was quick to race off after them yelling about safety and staying near the campsite.

“Those two are great.” John chuckled as he began building the fire. It did not take him long to get the fire up and going. “I’m looking forward to having them as sisters in law.”

“Yea.” Clay agreed with a dopey smile. He quickly shook himself out of it the second the implications of John’s words caught up with him. A bright blue blush covered his face. “Wait, what? Viva is my Queen! I’m her right hand Troll! I can’t-I mean it would be unprofessional if I-We’re friends, but-”

“Dude, don’t even try.” Bruce laughed loudly. He was helping Moon move rocks into place to build a base for the walls of the shelter. “You’ve had a crush on her since the first day of school.”

“I remember that, it was so cute!” John joined in the laughing. He sent Clay a teasing smile, which was returned by Clay’s embarrassed glare. “You would not stop talking about her all night. All through dinner.”

“While we were doing our homework.” Bruce tacked on, a teasing smile on his face as well.

“Putting you to bed.” John listed, elongating the last word.

“While I was trying to sleep.” Floyd deadpanned, a face of past annoyance.

“Yeah, well, I’m going toooooo, go get things to weave together.” Clay marched off into the nearby wooded section, gathering long grass and brambles. His ears were a deep blue from how much he was blushing.