What do a grey Troll and a Bergen have in common? They're both miserable with the only thing standing in their way of happiness being themselves.
Synth is a Bergen who has taken up the unusual habit of "smiling" and Branch is a Troll who has the unusual habit of spending every second of the day frowning. The two meet when Synth is wandering around the forest in search of something to end his relentless boredom when he hears music. He wanders close to the village when one of Branch's traps activates and Synth finds himself a little tied up. Branch finds that his trap has caught a Bergen and rushes to tell the village, only for no one to believe him. Branch goes back, intending to take care of the threat, only to find that his weapons can't do much against a Bergen.
With Synth stuck and Branch unable to end him, the two are stuck together. Synth quickly becomes more interested in talking to Branch than he is in trying to eat him, meanwhile Branch is fighting through his fear and frustration at no one believing him. He vents to Synth a little, and Synth is surprised to learn that Trolls can be miserable too.
Eventually Synth decides it's time to go home, and with a bit of effort, he snaps through Branch's ropes with ease. To Branch's shock, Synth doesn't make any attempt to eat him, just goes on his way.
Branch is struggling to understand what this means, when a day later Synth shows up to the same spot with the intention to talk. Synth tells Branch that if he wants to prove to the Trolls that he was telling the truth, he could go visit the Trolls and prove them wrong. Branch tells him "Nice try, but I'm not showing you where the village is".
Synth tries to get Branch to sing for him, as the sound of music is what drew him towards the village in the first place, but Branch refuses. Branch tries to get Synth to leave, but it's clear that Synth is there for something and won't leave until he gets it. That something? Conversation.
As it turns out, Synth has no friends in Bergen Town. That's not uncommon, as no Bergen has any friends, but they all have people they can tolerate. Synth unfortunately is not tolerable to any of the other Bergens, his habit of smiling being too weird for them. Branch asks why Synth smiles when he's not happy, and Synth says that he heard a smile can brighten your day, so he hopes that maybe if he smiles enough, he'll become happy.
Synth is making Branch's whole world crumble in on itself, and he doesn't know how to cope with that. Synth isn't really what he expected a Bergen to be like, and he's not made any move to eat Branch yet. Yet. Branch is sure that Synth is biding his time until Branch shows him the village, but for some reason he keeps going back to talk to him every day. Branch finds that he's starting to look forward to Synth's visits. He's even neglecting his usual Bergen-prep duties in favor of spending time with Synth. Not only that, but he hasn't had an outburst since he met Synth.
They're not sure what they are. Friends? Maybe? Can a Troll and a Bergen even be friends? Synth has found that he has someone who seems to enjoy his company, at least as much as a Grey Troll can, and Branch has found that even if Synth is lying to eat him, it's nice having someone to talk to about his interests. It's a little awkward when Branch talks about his Bergen prepping to an actual Bergen, but Synth is always quick to offer feedback. After all, who better to help Branch see how high a Bergen can reach than a Bergen?
Eventually Branch comes to realize he cares about Synth. He's still not entirely convinced that Synth isn't pretending to be nice so he can eat them all, but he comes to the shocking realization that he wants Synth to get to be happy once in his life, so he makes Synth an offer he knows he can't refuse. Who knows, maybe making Synth happy will make Branch happy too...
