Chapter Text
Hickory frowned. “I guess I’m going up the long way,” he sighed, and started inspecting the bark of the tree.
Branch turned back to him. “Hey, if you need a ride up, either of us could give you one…” he said, before trailing off in astonishment.
Hickory was leaping up to breaks in the bark, balancing, and then leaping again. He managed to get a few footholds on the thin moss that grew on the tree. He wasn’t even bothering to find handholds unless he paused to appreciate the view.
Branch stared. “…what the fu–”
“WHOA, Hickory, that’s so cool!” Poppy squealed, letting herself down a few feet, trusting the grip of her hair. “How are you doing that?!”
Hickory shrugged, leaning against the tree and using a nearly falling curl of bark to support himself. “I’ve been climbing mountains and the sides of gorges since I was little. It’s a yodeler thing.”
“…huh. Cool,” Branch said, and turned back to his own climbing. “You’re gonna have to show me how to do some of that later.”
Hickory chuckled. “I’ve been doing it so long it’s second nature, but it might not be so easy for you guys.” He considered a moment. “Like the way you use your hair. I mean, if I had to climb through the trees so often growing up, I might have learned to use it like that, but as it is, all I can do is this.” He wiggled his hair a bit as an example.
“That’s too bad,” Poppy sighed. “We could have had really cool swinging races.”
“You have swinging races? Oh man, I wanna see that.”
“Maybe not right now though,” Branch interjected, and Poppy pouted at him. “What? We’re trying to get to the top and Hickory can’t keep up.”
“Oh, you think I can’t keep up?” Hickory taunted.
Branch nearly burst out laughing. He knew a challenge when he heard one. He leapt down to the limb of the tree nearest to where Hickory had paused. “Oh, you’re on.”
Hickory grinned back at him. “See you at the top. I’ll be waiting.”
Poppy giggled, knowing she couldn’t stop them, and waved her hand, holding up three fingers. She ticked them off, shouting “Ready… Set…” Branch and Hickory tensed, ready. “…GO!”
And they were off.