Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Draal “the Deadly,” & Draal “the Destroyer;” these monikers were well deserved and Damari the Dawnbringer, or as she’s also known as Damari the Determined, was proud of her protégé.

To Damari, he will always be that “large whelp” or “stupid brute” that she’s had to physically remove him from a drunken opponent in the pub, dragging a drunken Draal with her, along the way, but she still loved him as if he were family.

“Seriously, Why do all of you stupid brutes get into fights, literally all the time?” Damari says, in the middle of a spar with Draal. The dark purple skin around her hair and her horns was all but covered in sweat.

She had a crossbow strapped to her back; along with a quiver. She had two daggers in two of her four hands. Two out of her many sheaths were empty, on her belt.

“Why are you asking me, Damari ‘the Damned’? As you’ve said many times, I have ‘rocks for brains.’” Draal comments, a clear mocking and teasing tone in his voice as he says “the Damned.”

Draal came in close with his axe and as he went to hit her, she dodged and managed to make his axe stuck in the floor of the forge.

While he was trying to pull it out of the floor, Damari shouted “Rule number three!” as she kicked him in the gronk-nuts, than kicked him in the stomach. Draal had fallen.

As he opened his eyes he saw Damari’s burgundy pink eyes staring back at him. Upon further investigation, he found he had one dagger to his heart and another to his throat. Damari smirked.

“Damari the Damned, huh? Arrogant as ever I see. Do you yield?” Damari asks.

Draal, instead of answering, kicked her leg, making her fall backwards. She had landed on her back.

Her six eyes blinked a couple of times, before a burst of boisterous laughter came out of their mouths.

Once she had settled herself down, she swiftly got up and held out a hand to help Draal up. Draal took her hand and got up. He pulled out his axe and put it away.

“Now come on! Let’s find Duross to help you work on the Kitlar spinning move!”

———————

Duross, unsurprisingly, was found in Blinky’s Library. The two sat beside each other, Aaarrrgghh sitting behind them. Both of them were listening intently to Blinky’s storytelling.

“Ahem!” Damari cleared her throat to gain their attention.

Blinky almost immediately stopped reading and looked up alarmed. He almost threw the book at whomever was intruding into his library, before he realized it was his older sister, Damari, and sighed.

Both Aaarrrgghh and Duross were alarmed as well. Duross had went for their sheathed daggers, and hadn’t bothered to look up before they threw a dagger that missed Damari by a few inches.

Damari pulled out the dagger from the wall and laughed, making Duross realize who they had just attacked.

This had also caused their face to flush with embarrassment, their cheeks becoming a darker blue than their skin already was.

Aaarrrggghh had raised his head and didn’t make a sign of violence, which made sense, he was a pacifist after all.

“Damari, sister, you got to stop doing that.” Blinky says glaring at his older sister.

“Nope, we both know that I like doing that way too much to stop.”

Blinky sighed and brought one of his many hands to his nose, pinching the bridge of it.

He mumbled something under his breath before holding one of his free hands up and the aqua blue sparks apparent, an obvious glow coming from his hand.

Aaarrrgghh had looked at him with a bit of shock before regaining his composure. Aaarrrgghh than speaking calmly, turned to Blinky, “Calm, Breath. Blinky don’t want books ruined? Right?”

Blinky nods rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, before sighing as the sparks faded from his hand. “Right. Thank you, Aaarrrgghh.” He says smiling warmly at one of his closest companions. He than turns to Damari, “Why in Deya’s name are you here anyways, other than scaring us to death?”

“I just wanted to ask Duross, if they could spar with Draal today and help him work on the spin move, that only the Kitlar can do. Since it’s not like I could possibly help him improve on it, being a Pannoxi and all.” Damari comments, not phased by the sudden act of magic from her brother, or being phased from Duross’ sudden dagger that almost hit her.

“It’ll be fun if I spar someone other than you, Damari. Though I am concerned with their possible injuries.” Draal says with a confident smirk on his face. He was leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed.

“Yours, more than likely, although I’d prefer to not injure someone today; I’m in a good mood. Plus I’m a lot more experienced than you, and you shouldn’t forget that.” They say, a bit of a serious tone apparent in their voice, although their face showed them holding back laughter.

Draal looked like he was searching for a retort and found none, so he settled with just scowling at them.

Blinky, blatantly ignoring Damari, and the smirk still apparent on her face, smiles as he turns to Draal and says, “I would love to see how much you’ve improved from the last time I watched you spar.”

“I hope I have,” Draal says before mumbling under his breath saying, “I just hope it’s enough to impress father.”

Aaarrrgghh nods in agreement, “Should improved more!”

Duross nods with a smile, and says, “Then it’s decided! To the forge!”

——————

Once they got to the forge, they started sparring almost immediately. The three trolls on the sidelines were cheering the two on as the session commenced. Draal started with the spin move, as Duross would have to dodge, or so he thought.

Duross had pulled out one of their daggers and aimed for his head, and had managed to time it correctly, making Draal uncoil.

Duross took that as an opportunity to activate the forge and hop onto one of the moving platforms, therefore having the upper ground.

“Activating the forge, Duross? I thought you’d be able to spar me on your own!” Draal taunted from one of the platforms.

They spun into a much tighter and controlled attack and spins towards Draal, not giving him the chance to recover.

Duross chose to ignore his taunts as he tried to dodge but managed to get off balance and fall off the platform.

Deactivating the Forge, Damari looks to Aaarrrgghh to catch Draal, just in case. As soon as Draal was back up, Duross gave him a few tips to the move that he was working to master, before going to their cave.

Draal looks to the sidelines and sees Vendel, but not Kanjigar and sighs. He looked disappointed but not surprised.

He than mumbled, “Of course, he isn’t here, he’s the Trollhunter! He’s always busy. And he always will be.”

This is what Draal has been telling himself from the day his father became the Trollhunter.

Although, unbeknownst to Draal, his father was watching, from the entrance of the forge, but had been called to take care of something before he could see the outcome.

Chapter Text

Duross gave a knowing smirk towards Kanjigar. “You were watching watching us again, weren’t you?”

“No!... Maybe...” Duross raised an eyebrow in question, “Fine! I was!”

“I knew it!” They signed.

“Though Trollhunter duties had me pulled aside.”

“I had a feeling that’s what happened.” They sign, before they pause, to look towards Draal, “You know you should talk to him.”

“You know very well my reasonings behind my behaviour.”

“You don’t notice it do you?” They say, looking between the father and son duo sadly.

“What?”

“It’s something you need to find out on your own. I just hope you notice it sooner than later. See you around, ‘Trollhunter.’” They sign.

“Bye, Duross the Dreaded.”
———————
Duross made their way back to their cave, and decided to make some tea for themselves. All of a sudden there was a knock at the entrance of their cave. They than shouted, “Who is it?”

“It’s Vendel, Duross.” They sighed and removed their hand from the dagger’s sheath, which they had placed there instinctively.

“Come on in, do you want some tea?”
Duross asked him smiling.

He nods as he enters the main room of their cave, “That would be delightful, Duross, thank you.”

Duross pulled out another stone cup, and pours some tea in the two cups.
“One sugar in your tea, right?” They sign.

“Right.”

Duross grabbed 3 sugar cubes that were somehow still fresh. They placed two in their own and the third in Vendel’s cup. They sit down at their small table handing a cup to Vendel.

“Good job on your sparring session today. Though that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t just come here to say hi or to tell me something like that.”

“I was wondering if you wanted to become a student of mine. Though just to clarify I mean when it comes to cleaving, not for becoming the next elder. I’ve already entrusted that with someone else.”

“It would be a pleasure to work under you, Vendel.”

“Good to hear.”

“Just one question.”

Vendel nods.

“Who are you planning on training to become the next elder? If you don’t mind me asking, I mean!”

“Blinkous Galadrigal, or more commonly known as Blinky.”

Duross blinked in surprise, they were happy for him, but he’ll most likely overwork himself.

“Are you sure about that, Vendel? I know he’ll do great at it, but he’s sure to overwork himself.”

“Yes, I’m sure. He will overwork himself, but I have a feeling that he’s going to be forced to rest at one point.”

Duross laughs, “Yeah that sounds about accurate.” They sign smiling.

“So when do we get started?” They ask with excitement apparent in their voice.

”Hmmm... How about tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good, Vendel.”

“Alright. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Chapter Text

Blinky had gone up to the surface again. For once Damari, did not know what to do.

“It would be reckless to go out and search for him, but surely he brought Aaarrrgghh with him, right?” Damari says, thinking out loud.
She was sitting in her brother’s library, with her face sitting in two of her hands, the other two continuously clenching and unclenching in and out of a fist. Suddenly, that exact troll, broke her out of her thoughts.

“Mari Okay? Where Blinky?” Aaarrrgghh asked.

‘By Deya’s Grace Blinkous! Of course you went out alone!’

“I’ll be honest... I’m not okay, Aaarrrgghh. He went to the surface, again.” She says, answering both of the questions almost without missing a beat.

“Oh... I here, you want talk?”
She sighs before gesturing to the bench across from her, nodding slightly. Aaarrrggghh sits down giving her his full attention.
“I’m worried about him. He usually goes up to the surface with you, right?“ She asks, already knowing the answer, but she’s asking anyways.

“Yes.”

“Blinkous... has the tendency to get into bad situations, as you know. And I just don’t want to lose him.” She says, sighing.

“Know how Mari cares for Blinky... and brother before...”

Damari knew what he meant. “I know how much you care about Blinky... and Dictatous before Killahead.”

He then added on, “Blinky, good smart troll. Blinky find way, if stuck.”

She looks at him with a smile, and says, “I know. Thanks for reminding me.”

Aaarrrggghh had moved from where he was sat to another bench that was placed against the wall. A few moments later, there’s a familiar voice that speaks up for the two to hear.

“Hey, Aaarrrggghh! Hello Dama!” Blinky says, giving them a smile.

“Blinkous!” She says giving him a hug.
Blinky, well, blinked, before returning the hug. Then Damari ended the gesture by letting go of her brother, and immediately went to scolding him. “Why in Deya’s name did you go to the surface alone?!”

Blinky immediately flinched, causing his smile to fade, before saying, “I wasn’t alone.”

“Mhmm. Then who were you with? Aaarrrggghh just asked where you were, obviously not knowing where you went.”

An awkward silence sat between them all before Blinky, seemingly able to find his voice, though it wasn’t his normal calm tone, instead, an angry one took its place.
“I’m a grown troll, Damari! You need not treat me like I’m a damn whelp!”

Damari flinched, as he said the words “damn whelp.” It wasn’t exactly the cuss word that made her flinch; training Draal caused her to be used to it, or at least being used to it coming from Draal. For Blinky it was exceptionally rare for him to cuss, and that was what made her flinch.

Feeling things may get out of hand, Duross came out from behind Blinky, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a look of reassurance. Blinky gives them a smile, “Thank you.” He says quietly. Their presence was successfully helping him calm down.

Turning to Damari, they then sign,
“He was showing me one of his favourite spots on the surface.”

Damari sighs, looking partially relieved that he indeed hadn’t gone alone, but still clearly frustrated with him, “Do you know how worried I was about you?” She asks, looking up.

“My apologies, Damari. It wasn’t my plan for us to be out so closely to sunrise. Vendel has been mentoring them for cleaving, and I for becoming the next elder. He had pulled us aside for a few hours,” Blinky says, a lot calmer than he was before, “As much as it is an honour to be chosen to become the next elder, the work can be rather tedious at times.”

Damari sighs, “It’s still reckless and precarious to go to the surface!”

“Pre-car-io-us?” Aaarrrgghh asks, out of habit.

“Precarious. Means unpredictable, or risky, my friend.” Blinky says explaining it simply. He sighs, than says, “I’m well aware of the dangers of the surface, and I may not be a skilled fighter, but like the rest of troll kind, I can be stealthy and not be noticed.”

Damari sighs, than looks at Blinky sincerely, “I know. I’m sorry Blinkous... I will always worry. I don’t want you to...” She says, and although she didn’t say it, the word “die” hung in the air. She usually wasn’t an emotional person, but if she lost her only family she had left... she didn’t know what she’d do... Without realizing it, tears had started dropping from her eyes.

“I know Dama.” Blinky says walking around the table to sit beside his sister. He placed a hand on her back, and started rubbing her back. “I’m sorry for scaring you. We both miss him.”

After a few moments of thought, Duross tapped Blinky on his shoulder, causing him to look up, “Do you have any tea?” They ask whispering. He shakes his head.

Duross quickly left. When they came back about a half an hour later, they were carrying four cups of warm tea in a small carrier basket. They take out two and placed them in front of Blinky and Damari, both of them had managed to fall asleep.

They handed one to Aaarrrggghh and smiled. “Here.” They simply said, quietly.

He took it and smiled back at them.
“Thank you.” He says, speaking quietly as well.

They took out the last one, and started drinking from it. A few moments later, Damari wakes up to the smell and feel of warm tea. She opens her eyes and sees her cup of tea, and one beside it, for Blinky, she presumes. She picks up the cup and takes a few sips, before recognizing the blend.

Duross looks back up to see Damari looking at them.
“I remember this blend.”

“It’s your favourite.”

“I know, and I’m guessing,” she picks up her brother’s and sniffs it, before putting it down, “that is Blinkous’ favourite.”

“Yes. Aaarrrgghh has his, though all of yours were modified slightly, to be more calming. And mine was already a calming tea, so I didn’t modify it.”

“Fair enough.” She takes another sip of the tea, and says, “You know, you should open a stall in the market, selling your blends.”

“Agree.” They hear Aaarrrggghh say, as he moves to sit on the bench across from Damari and Blinky.

“I’m not that good.”

Blinky had been woken up by their conversation. He also had been awake for enough of the conversation to realize what they were talking about. He looks at Duross, who had sat beside Aaarrrgghh.
“I definitely agree with both of them. It’s something that you are great at. Please don’t be harsh on yourself. You really are good at it. You made our favourite blends, remember?”

Damari looked shocked for a few seconds before regaining her composure. Duross’ head shot up and saw Blinky giving them a genuine smile. Their cheeks darkened.

Aaarrrgghh, had noticed that Blinky had woken up from his sleepy state, had decided not to mention anything previously. He laughed at their reactions. Blinky picks up his cup and takes a few sips.

“Blinkous is right. You even modified the blend perfectly. I recognized it almost immediately, without realizing that the blend had changed.” She says smiling.

“Thank you guys. You definitely know how to make a troll feel better about themselves.” They sign smiling.

“Anything for a good friend.” Damari says.

“Here’s to family, and friends.” Blinky says holding up his cup. Following suit the other three clanked their cups together with everyone else’s.

“You, Aaarrrggghh’s Family.” Aaarrrggghh says after taking another sip of his tea.

“I agree with Aaarrrgghh here. You guys are family.” Duross says grinning.

————————

Damari had went back to her own cave, and Aaarrrgghh had went to the pub. Leaving Duross and Blinky alone, and for awhile they just sat and told each other stories, which always ended in laughter. Until, Duross looked up at Blinky, with a smile.

“Hey, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to show you.” Duross says, getting up from their spot on the ground.

They hold out a hand for Blinky to grab onto. Blinky smiles, and grabs their hand, before putting away the book that they had just finished reading.

“Well, come on then! Lead the way, Rossi.” He says, before suddenly being dragged out of the library. They start to head towards a cavern on the outskirts of Heartstone Trollmarket.

Right before they arrived Duross says, “Close your eyes. Please.”

“Umm.. Okay?” He says, shutting his eyes.

Duross leads him down a makeshift stairs, before they made it to a medium sized cavern. It was covered in different coloured crystals shining into the room.

“On three, open them.
One.
Two.
Three!”

He opened his eyes.

Different cool coloured and warm coloured crystals jutted out of the general vicinity and made the cave glow. He looks towards Duross, smiling.

“This is stunning! When did you have time to find this?”

“Vendel took me out to show me how to take out raw crystals, and he showed me this. I made a comment to him, saying the cave was too stunning to take any of it away.” They say smiling.

“I thought maybe that this could be a great hang out spot, since the library can become too crowded at times.” They explain further, sitting down on the ground.

“I see. Though we have a rather... small friend group, it can still get crowded.” He says, sitting down as well. “It’s a very good idea, Rossi!”

“Thank you, Blinkous.” They say, rubbing the back of their neck sheepishly.

“You can call me Blinky, you know that.”

“I don’t know... I just feel out of place calling you, Blinky.” They say, before mumbling, “I feel like I don’t deserve the ability to call you that.” They look down and play with a pebble on the ground, fidgeting with it a bit.

“Are you okay?”

They continued to fidget with the pebble unable to think at that moment.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Blinky says after a few more minutes of silence. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Duross sighs, they knew that they couldn’t lie to Blinky. They were like an open book to him, so they just move to his side and spoke.

“If you hadn’t noticed; which I’m sure you have, as you are a very observant troll; I seriously lack self-confidence.” They start explaining. “The few times that I’ve been in that ‘negative state,’ I hated it, and I still do. But it’s not like I can make it disappear.”

“No. You cannot, but you can talk about it and improve those things, though it may not seem like much at first, but trust me it’ll make a difference.” Blinky says, giving them a sincere smile. He almost sounds like he knew from experience, but Duross knew his situation was quite different from theirs.

Duross smiles as they lean their head onto Blinky’s shoulder. Being careful not to hurt Blinky with their horns, they tilt their head towards their chest.

“Thank you, Blinky...” They mumble the last part before the unfamiliar nickname faded on their tongue.

Duross closes their eyes and just relishes in the moment.
Blinky looks at them with admiration, as he tucks a loose strand of hair from their face, behind their ear. After a few moments they moved to face Blinky.

“You are awesome, you know that right?” Duross asks, giving him a smile.

“... What? ...” Blinky asks, his face perplexed by what was going on as he’s suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.

“I said, “You are awesome, you know that right?” You were lost in your thoughts again weren’t you?” They ask, as a knowing smirk replaces their smile.

Blinky nods, as he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.
Duross laughs and leans forward. Blinky smiles as he recognizes the gesture and follows suit, causing their foreheads to touch.

They were like that for a few more moments before hearing a noise coming from the entrance of the crystal-lit cave. Duross immediately returned to their normal position. Jumping up and readying their daggers in their hands, they spoke.

“Who’s there? I am armed and prepared to fight.”

“It was not my intention to spy on you.” Draal says coming back down from the makeshift staircase, and into the cave.

Duross sighs and places their daggers back into their sheathes, recognizing the voice.

“Then why are you here?” They ask, a bit agitated by the disturbance in the moment.

“I was looking for you two.” He says, “I was asked by my fath- I mean the Trollhunter to find you both for something that he would not say.”

“Alright. Sorry for threatening you,” They say smiling sheepishly, before continuing, “I’m presuming that you knew of this place before today?”

“Yes, I did. It’s a place my father showed me when I was little. I kind of thought that I would come here to relax before continuing to search for you.” He says, not even thinking to replace the words ‘My Father’ to ‘The Trollhunter.’
“Then I heard you both talking and realized that you were probably talking about something private. A stone from the staircase had fallen and made the noise that startled you both. You guys know what happened from there.”

Blinky stands up and brushes off his shorts.
“Draal, I thank you for being honest with us both.” Blinky says giving him a sincere smile.
“You are welcome, Blinkous.” Draal says in response as he walks to the stairs and up the makeshift staircase.

Blinky turns to Duross and says, “Well? Let’s go and find out what in Merlin’s name, The Trollhunter wants.” They both started to walk towards the staircase.

Duross laughs, and ruffles a bit of Blinky’s hair. Duross, being one or two inches taller than him, did it with ease. Blinky huffs and fixes his hair.

“Please, stop doing that.” He says, a bit flustered.

Duross shakes their head, a slightly smug smirk appearing on their face. Blinky pouts a bit, but continues to walk up the staircase.

They walked in silence until they caught up to Draal.

“I wonder what he wants to talk about.” Blinky says, curiously.

“I’m unsure.” Duross signs, “Though it must be important if he asked for both of us.”

Draal frowned as he looked back at the two. He disliked their sentiment especially when they were together. Though in all truthfulness, it wasn’t Duross who he didn’t like.

It was Blinky.

To Draal, he was this annoying and nerdy troll and he only had two reasons for why he put up with him. Maybe one day he’ll get along with the Pannoxi Troll but Draal certainly never wanted to.

A little while later, they had reached Kanjigar’s cave, which was just on the outskirts of the market. They walk to the entrance and knocked.

“Hello, Draal are you back already?” Kanjigar calls out in curiosity.

“Yes, I am, Trollhunter.” Draal says.

“Well come on in!” Kanjigar replies.

Kanjigar, for once was out of his Trollhunter armour and was in a similar kilt to Draal’s but a strap went across his chest. The two walk in talking, while Draal just stays silent.

“Greetings, Blinkous, and you too Duross.” He says giving them both a smile.

“Hello Draal.” He says smiling at his son.

“I’ll be leaving soon.” Draal says, coolly.

Kanjigar’s face fell as he heard that. He turns back to the two, “Do you guys want some tea?” He asks, a smaller smile replacing his other one.

Duross smiles, and nods. Blinky looks towards him and nods.
“Thanks, Trollhunter.” Blinky says, out of habit.

“You know that, you guys are friends of mine, right?” Kanjigar asks, with a light chuckle.

“Yes, of course.” Blinky says, after glancing at Duross, who had given him a slight nod.

“Then you should know, that when I’m not baring the Trollhunter armour, you can call me by my name.” Kanjigar says, laughing a bit as he brought three cups to the table.

“I’m sorry, Kanjigar. I sometimes forget that fact.” Blinky says smiling sheepishly.

Duross nods in agreement as they take a cup and takes a few sips.

“So you are probably wondering why I called you guys here.” Kanjigar starts, as he sits down.

“Yes. You never ask for the both of us unless it’s important.” Duross signs.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d help out with a class of whelps to help them learn to fight and defend themselves.” Kanjigar says smiling a bit.

“It’d be a pleasure, Kanjigar.” Blinky replies.

Duross looks at the floor and debates it for a few moments, before looking back up with a determined look on their face.

They nod.

Kanjigar smiles, “That settles it than! The classes should start in a few days. I’ll let Vendel know!”

The other two said their goodbyes and set off for Blinky’s Library.

Chapter Text

Duross had had enough of this! They couldn’t deal with how much they’d been beaten up as they were considered “weak,” bullied, and teased, for their morals. They want to prove that strength isn’t everything.

They’d never just pick a fight with another Kitlar or troll just because they felt like the troll was inferior to them or something; no that was a dumb habit most of the Kitlar tribe had in common. They want to settle things through talking and more peaceful methods.

So finally, they’re doing it. Vendel had talked to their father and offered them a place while they traveled with the trolls. They are officially moving into Heartstone Trollmarket. They were so excited to discover new crystals and the caves that came with them.

They go up to their sister, and hugs her.

“Have fun, travelling. I love you, and see you soon.”

“I hope everything goes better for you in Heartstone Trollmarket, Rossi.” She says, smiling.

They let go of the embrace before hugging both of their parents.

“Thank you both for letting me do this. I love you both.” They say smiling, with a few tears in their eyes.

“You’re welcome, Rossi. Stay strong.”

“Stay safe, and be careful.”

“I will!” They say waving to their family, as they finally let go of their parents, and run towards the gyre.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Duross stood by the troll who they had been informed was Vendel, who was speaking to three other trolls. Each of these trolls had four arms and six eyes. Duross presumed they were of the Pannoxi tribe of trolls.

The first, and most likely the oldest; if Duross was correct; had purple skin and hair, with a similar stare to Vendel’s. The troll had a nose piercing and three ear piercings.
Their eyes were a bright burgundy colour. Duross could tell that they were more experienced than the other two trolls beside them. Despite the troll’s initial stare, Duross saw passed that after a little while, and saw a spark of courage, and fury in their eyes.
This troll wore a loose tank top and a pair of loose fitting shorts that was tied up using a belt as well. There were two sets of horns that were visible, though it was apparent that the second pair hadn’t finished growing yet.

The second troll was a pale green, and had spiked black hair with a few white streaks. The troll’s stare seemed distant and cold, making Duross shiver for a split second.
As Duross looked at their eyes for a longer time they noticed that there was anxiety in them. Duross had no clue what could have been happening that caused them to be anxious. The troll had approximately one nose piercing, and a few ear piercings.
They also had one set of horns, by appearance. They wore a strap that went across their chest, that held up their pants.

The last one had turquoise blue skin, and a brighter turquoise blue for their hair. Similarly to the green troll, this troll only had one pair of horns by appearance as well. This troll wore suspenders, and a nervous smile on their face.

“Damari, Dictatious, and Blinkous this is Duross, they’ll be staying with me until they get settled into a new cave.” Vendel explains.

“Hi.” They say, quietly. They were fidgeting with their hands, obviously nervous.

The purple troll came to them first, and held out their hand.

“Hello! I’m Damari Galadrigal. I am Dictatious and Blinkous’ older sister. It’s nice to meet you.” Damari says, as she smiles, “And if you would prefer, you can call me Mari.”

Duross takes her hand, and shakes it. They give her a weak smile. They turn to the next troll, who did not seem to be happy about doing this.

“Why do I have to do this again?” The green troll grumbles.

“Dictatious! Don’t be rude!” Damari scolds, the green troll, who Duross could now presume is Dictatious.

“Fine. I’m Dictatious Galadrigal. I’m Blinkous and Damari’s brother.” Dictatious says, huffing in annoyance.

“I’m Blinkous Galadrigal. I’m Damari’s younger brother and Dictatious’ twin. It is a pleasure to meet you.” The turquoise blue troll says before holding out his hand.

They accepted the hand, shaking it firmly, before letting go.
“Duro.” Duross says quietly.

“Hmm?” Blinky hums inquisitively, as he blinks, a bit taken aback by the troll speaking. Blinky was not expecting a response. It wasn’t much of one but it was a response.

“I said, ‘Duro,’ it’s the only nickname I liked, that was given to me in Iceland.” Duross says a bit louder than they usually spoke, shifting their weight back and forth between their feet.

“Well, Duro, if you want to, you can call me Blinky.” Blinky says, giving them a smile.

- — — — — Few minutes later— — — — -

Duross looks to Vendel as he guides them to where they were staying. They than arrive at an almost empty room. There was some stuff in the corner, but Duross didn’t ask.

“This’ll be where you’ll be staying until you get settled.”

“Thank you, Vendel, Sir.” They say, before heading inside and placing their stuff on the floor.

“I’m not that old yet! Just call me by name.” Vendel says, a bit annoyed.

- — — — — Few Hours Later — — — — -

Duross hears a knock on their door, and they are quick to react, as they jump to their feet instinctively. Their hand went to their side, and they pull out a dagger warily.

“Hello?” They quickly moved into a position where they could easily attack the intruder.

“Greetings. Vendel said that this was the room you were staying in. I just wanted to see if you would like a tour of Heartstone Trollmarket?” Blinky says as he walks into Duross’ line of sight. They visibly ease up a bit at the sight of the Pannoxi troll.

“Oh!” They say quietly. “Blinkous, right?” They sign as they recognized the troll in front of them. Blinky nods, smiling.

They nod, a small smile on their face, before realizing something.
“Sorry.” They sign, quietly, as they placed the dagger back into its sheath and rubbed the back of their neck sheepishly.

“For what?” Blinky, blinks in confusion, as he spoke.

“For threatening you?” They sign, being blunt.

“Oh.” He says, before laughing.

“What?”

“Though she may not look it, Mari is a skilled fighter. While she was still “in training,” she used to instinctively throw a dagger or two in our general direction if we took her by surprise. Thankfully that habit is gone now, but it’s amazing the fact that my brother and I are still alive, because my sister has impeccable aim.” He says chuckling a bit.

They nod, giving him a smile, a little larger than before.

“Shall we?” He asks, smiling.

Once again they nod.

- — — — — — A Day Later — — — — — -

Duross walks around the market before accidentally bumping into something; well someone. They look down and see a small Nurel troll who had fallen.

“Here, let me help you.” They say, lending the troll a hand. “I’m Duross.”

A few heads looked up at the sound of a new voice speaking. Despite the fact that Duross could clearly feel the trolls’ eyes on them, they ignored them.

The young troll, takes their hand and smiles, as they pull the troll up. “I’m Phoenix. I’m the daughter of the weaponsmith over there!” The Nurel troll explains as she points to the place that they’d start working at in a few days.

Their parents had talked to the owner before they came here, and just after being introduced by Blinky, the owner had talked to them about the job, and had simply said, “You’re hired.”

Phoenix seemed not to mind the eyes on them, that or she generally did not know that they were there.

“Ah, you’re the daughter of Akkafoe! Well, it’s nice to meet you.” They sign.

The small troll blinks at them confused.

“What does that mean?” Phoenix asks, presuming that the hand signals meant something.

“It’s the trollish sign language.” They speak as they sign, making sure that she could see the signs that they made as they spoke the words.

“Oooh! Cool! Can you teach me? Can you please teach me? Please! Please!” Phoenix asks, as she jumps up and down in excitement.

Duross laughs, “Sure!” They sign, as they clearly nod.

“I’m going to assume that was a yes!” Phoenix says, giggling.

Later on...

“Nibi! Nibi! I’m home! I learned something cool!” Phoenix exclaims once again in excitement.

Akkafoe laughs as they come over and ask, “What did you learn Phoenix?”

“Hello Nibi, I’m Phoenix.” She signs excitedly.

“Sign language, huh?” They say smiling.

The younger Nurel troll nods.

- — — — — A few days Later — — — — -

Duross walks into the shop, and takes a whiff of the area, as they smile. It may look like a different place but this Forge was similar to the one back home, so they recognized the scent immediately; burning coal, burning hot metallic materials.

These mix of metals were bent into shape to become something better, something more helpful. Something that creates an unique connection between the weaponsmith, the weapon, and the customer. They grab a leather apron and put it on. They had finally found a job that could sustain them for awhile.

They walk in and smile, “Akkafoe! I’m here.” They sign as Phoenix runs up to them jumping up and down.

“Phoenix! It’s good to see you too!”

“So you’ve met my daughter, Phoenix, already.” They say, chuckling a bit.

“Yup, she’s quite talkative, I’ve noticed.” They say as they sign.

“Nibi! They’re the one who taught me the alphabet in sign language!” Phoenix exclaims.

“Alright, alright! Let’s open up shop.”

Duross signs, “Wait.”

They take out a book from their bag, and hands it to the younger troll. The cover read, “The basics of Trollish Sign Language.”

“You can use this to learn until my shift is done. Just be careful alright?” They say smiling.

Phoenix nods and walks to her room.

“That was nice of you! Well come on! Let’s get this place open!”

“Alright!” They sign.

- — — A couple of Months later — — -

Duross knocks on the door of the shop, smiling.

A large unfamiliar troll answered the door sleepily.

“Hello. Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

There was a string of silence as the troll closed their eyes, before being tapped. The troll’s eyes opened curiously, before realizing the person was signing.

“I’m Duross, and I work here?” They sign over again.

A smaller more familiar troll looks between Duross and the troll, and shakes their head.

“Cassiopeia, move.” Akkafoe snaps abruptly, and the larger troll lets out a huff of annoyance but moves reluctantly anyways. A tired Akkafoe grabs Duross’ ear and drags them to a small living room. Akkafoe then drags the other troll by their ear and makes them sit down.

“Uhhhh... Morning.” Duross signs, as they spoke, knowing that sign language was sometimes harder to understand in the morning especially when someone’s just woken up.

“Morning, Duro.” They turn to the taller troll, as the taller troll glared at Duross, “Cassiopeia, stop glaring at them!” Akkafoe chides the larger troll.

“Cassiopeia, this is Duross, they’ve been helping me out in the shop, while you were gone. Duross, meet Cassiopeia, my partner, and best friend.” Akkafoe’s face crinkle as they smile.

“Nice to meet you Cassiopeia.” They sign as they speak.

“Please, call me Cassio or Cassi, if you’d prefer. It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

“Alright. If you’d like you can call Duro as well.” They say.

“They’re Yavo and Jozaliea’s child.”

“Ah. I see! Quick question though, why were you signing?”

“Cassi!” Akkafoe says, facepalming.
“I’m sorry Duro, they really don’t know what their doing.”

“HEY!”

“It’s okay, it’s to be expected. I’ve been asked this before, on several occasions.” Duross lets out a laugh, before explaining, “I’m not deaf, or hard of hearing, but I use it because it’s my way of speaking when I’m not comfortable with using my voice.” They sign as they spoke.

“Ah I see. Sorry for asking such a personal question.” Cassiopeia says, rubbing the back of their neck sheepishly.

“It’s alright.” They sign, before pausing and looking at Cassiopeia more closely.

“You’re a Castell Troll aren’t you?” They sign once again.

“Yes I am. The human constellation Cassiopeia is on my back, hence my name.” Cassiopeia explains.

“I’ve never met a troll of your heritage, or skin type before!” They sign, as their eyes light up with excitement. “Is that the Orion Constellation? What personality traits do you have that reflects that—“ They say, despite their original nerves, before being cut off by Akkafoe.

“Okay! Okay! Stop it both of you. We need to set up shop.” Akkafoe chides lightly, as they let out a light chuckle.

“Sorry Akkafoe...” Duross signs, the light in their eyes fading, before they sheepishly rub the back of their neck.

“Shall we?” Akkafoe asks, smiling.

Duross nods and starts setting stuff up and cleaning before hearing Cassiopeia saying that Akkafoe’s breakfast was ready.

“Duro, did you eat before you came here?” Duross’ eyes darted towards the floor, answering Akkafoe’s question.

“Come on. Have breakfast with us.” Akkafoe says. They smirk, making it blatantly obvious that they weren’t taking a no for an answer as they dragged them to their table.

“I guess it’s a good thing I made extra.” Cassiopeia says, letting out a laugh.

“Do you want some tea?” Cassiopeia asks, a grin plastered on their face.

Duross nods hesitantly.
“May I have some green tea if you have any?” They sign to Akkafoe, who smiles and translates for them.

Cassiopeia gives them both a thumbs up and heads to the kitchen area. They put on some water to boil.

“So, you said Cassiopeia is your Partner? Do you mean they are your significant other?” Duross asks quietly.

“Yes. They are indeed my significant other. We’ve been raising Phoenix for quite some time now. What it’s been about 20 or 30 years now? Anyways I’m sorry I forgot to mention that. I thought your parents told you.” They explain a small smile on their face.

“I see. So Phoenix is half Castell half Nurel?” They ask, curiously.

“No not exactly. I don’t have enough living stone to produce a new living stone. Cassiopeia is almost the same, except their living stone is oddly specific for them, and their living stone can not be broken, especially not easily.” They say quietly. “So we adopted.”

“Well, fair enough.” They sign, shrugging.

Akkafoe’s silence quickly turned into quiet bursts of laughter

“What’s so funny, Akkafoe?”

“Your reaction. That’s something I like about you Duross; you don’t give a damn about things in others’ lives most of the time.” They say, giving Duross a full smile.

“Yeah, that’s because it’s their business not mine.” They sign.

“True.”

“Morning Duro, Nibi.”

“Morning Nix, now if you haven’t already, please do your morning routine.”

“Already done Nibi. May I sit with you?”

“Of course.” Akkafoe says as they smile.

Suddenly Phoenix hears sounds of struggle, a string of curses in trollish and what sounded like a gnome.

“May I be excused for a moment?” Phoenix says, noticing that Akkafoe and Duross hadn’t noticed it.

Akkafoe nods, giving them another smile.

She heads to the kitchen area, and sees Cassiopeia holding the drinks. She suddenly feels a hit in the leg, and look down to find a gnome hitting her leg.

Phoenix quietly mumbles something and suddenly the gnome was floating and looked at Phoenix confused.

“You don’t mess with a Sorceress in training.” She says, letting the poor gnome go. He scurries away, but before leaving, he blows a raspberry at Phoenix and Cassiopeia.

“Do you need a hand?”

“Yeah, that’d be great, thanks Nixie.”

“It’s not a problem, Zaza.”

They both walk in with two cups each.

“Here you go Duro, Nibi.” She says as she hands each of the cups to each said troll.

“Thank you.” Duross signs, giving Phoenix a smile.

“Thank you Nix, and Cassi.” Akkafoe says, smiling.

“It’s not a problem!” She says cheerfully.

- — — — — A decade later — — — — -

“Hey! I’m here to work.” They call into Akkafoe’s shop.

There was no response, at all.

“Akkafoe?” They ask, as they walk in, before hearing faint sobs.

“Phoenix?” They call out, as they walk into the living quarters of the home. The sobs start to get louder.

“Phoenix... are you okay?” They ask as they realize the troll who was crying was the younger Nurel Troll.

The younger troll turns around and runs into Duross, before suddenly pulling their kilt and them towards the room. Duross blinks in disbelief. Their eyes started to water, but being the older one and not wanting Phoenix to be even more upset, they held back their tears.

They sat beside the young troll and tries to comfort her. They didn’t want to face the stony corpse that was behind them. They pick up Phoenix and places her on her bed after the crying. They move on to finish the assignments, repairs, etc.

They sigh and get started.

- — — After everything was done — — -

Phoenix walks up to them and asks, “Who will I be staying with, Duro? Zaza won’t be back for awhile.”

“Here, come with me okay?” They ask.

“Alright...”

As they walk to Vendel’s, Duross brings up several different subjects to get Phoenix’s mind off of it.

Once they arrive, Duross knocks at the entrance, to see if Vendel was inside.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Duross... “ Their Voice hitches as they think about the next topic. “I have Phoenix here with me.”

“Come on in.”

“Phoenix could you go to the other room for a few minutes?” Duross asks.

The young troll nods and walks away.

“Akkafoe...” Another hitch,“... is... gone...”

Vendel looks at them sympathetically, “They were a great troll and weaponsmith. I’m sorry for your loss... I know how close you two were.” He says, before pulling Duross into a hug.

Duross blinks, clearly taken aback by this, before hugging back. He truly did have a kind heart despite his first impressions.

“Thank you, Vendel.”

“Hmm?” He hums as he lets them go and takes a step back.

“I said ‘Thank you, Vendel.’ and I mean it, thank you for everything.” They say.

“You are welcome, Duross.” Vendel responds.

“Could you take in Phoenix?” Duross asks suddenly.

“I can but only temporarily.” Vendel says.

“Cassiopeia should be back soon.”

“While that is true, they will probably want to have time to mourn their partner. Where would she stay than?”

“How about me? After I get myself together I mean?”

“Fine.”

- — — — — — A day later — — — — — -

Blinky knocks at the entrance of the cave.

Duross; who is in the other room, hears the knock and puts on a fake smile.

“Coming!” They say, as they head to the entrance of their cave.

“Hello Blinkous. Come on in.” They say once they see who it is. “Do you want some tea?”

Blinky nods as he walks in; and under proper lighting, he could see the stains that looked like trails underneath their eyes.

“Are you... okay?” He asks hesitantly.

“I’m...” Their eyes dart around the room as the fidget nervously. Their relationship with Blinky had become more than acquaintances, but into a pretty solid friendship. Despite this, they weren’t sure if they were ready to open up more than they already had.

“Duro?” Blinky questions, concern filling his voice.

They finally spoke up.

“Blinkous... Akkafoe...” Their voice hitches as they attempt to stop themselves from bursting out into tears. “has... passed...” They say bluntly.

Blinky gasps and places two of his hands over his mouth.

“Wait... then where is Phoenix?” He asks, after recovering from his initial reaction.

“She’s staying at Vendel’s until I am able to pull myself together and take her in. At least until Cassiopeia is back.”

“I am glad that she’s in a safe place.”

He takes a deep breath, before saying, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you for your condolences, Blinkous.”

“I already told you on several occasions, please call me Blinky.”

Duross stays silent and moves to make some tea.

They barely hold it all in during the visit that was until Blinky notices the fact that they were visibly shaking.

“Are you okay?” He asks, before shaking his head. “Of course you aren’t okay, Akkafoe died.” He says quietly.

That seemed to open the floodgates, for them.

“I’ll be right back...” They say, quickly before rushing off into another room.

Duross runs into the room and starts crying. Their negative thoughts start to emerge, as they start crying. They unconsciously put their nails on their other arm and scratches there roughly.

Blinky stays silent, and shakes his head. Trolls were against showing their “weak” emotions to other trolls, except for family, very close friends and significant others.

Blinky wasn’t sure how to approach them about it; he didn’t want to overstep, but at the same time, they would need a person to lean on during this time period.

He sighs as he hears crying from the other room. He walks to the entrance of the room.

“Duro, May I come in?” Blinky asks, softly.

They nod weakly, before furiously wiping tears from their face. They take out their nails from their arm and wraps it quickly with fabric. Blinky comes in and sits beside them.

Duross looks at him with pain and exhaustion in their eyes, but manages to put on a weak smile.

“Are you okay with touch?” He asks calmly.

Duross nods, slightly.

“It’s going to be alright.” Blinky says calmly, and offers them a hug. They accept it, and start crying.

Blinky continues to comfort them, until they suddenly stop crying and asks quietly, “Do you know why I moved here?”

Blinky looks at them confused, and taken aback by the sudden question. He shakes his head no, before saying, “No.”

They’re silent for a little while, before stepping back from the embrace to show their signing.

They then sign, ”I left because I don’t fit in, and probably never will. Kitlar trolls are extremely rude, and use violence to solve everything.” They pause, then continue, “I don’t want that. I don’t want to have to fight. I just want to protect those closest to me, and possibly train other trolls or whelps who need to know how to defend themselves. It’s just not me.”

Blinky gives them a weak smile before it fades into an expression that they couldn’t particularly read, “I get that feeling, Duro. You’re not the only one.”

Duross blinks in confusion, as they sign, “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been bullied in the past for being small and weak. I grew up with Dictatious and Damari at our old home, but the same trolls are here now. It’s dumb that I let them push me around back then but I can’t do anything about it now.”

They nod silently, as they let go of their other arm absentmindedly.

The fabric wrapped around their arm catches Blinky’s attention. He observes it intently, for a few moments, before realizing that the fabric was wet.

His expression softened as he looks at Duross, than back at it.

“What happened, Duro?” He asks softly, as he points out the fabric.

Duross looks down and realizes that they had let go of the fabric, they than look up at Blinky and notice the concern in his face. They sat there frozen in embarrassment and fear.

Blinky moves to their side with the injured arm.

He looks at them, and asks, “May I?”

They knew that they couldn’t do anything about it, so they nod weakly.

Blinky gently unwraps the fabric, and removes it from their arm. He gently turns their arm towards him. He gasps quietly as he sees the marks and blood from earlier, and scattered around; there are scars that were just barely noticeable.

“I know that I’m asking this question when the answer is pretty obvious, but I want to hear the response from you.”

He takes a deep breath before asking, “Are you alright?”

“I really don’t know anymore. I thought I was better, no I WAS better, then...” They pause, “Then this happened...” They sign.

They look down, and sigh.

“I may not know the pain you’ve been through, but I cannot sit idly by, watching you beat yourself up about it. Come, follow me.” He says giving them a smile. They look at him with confusion and curiosity. They shrug, and get up.

They walk in an awkward silence for awhile before arriving at Blinky’s library.

“Sometimes it’s good to just escape reality for a bit.” Blinky says. He grabs a few books before sitting down on the ground; knowing that Duross’ spikes wouldn’t sit comfortably if they sat on a chair.

Duross smiles and sits beside him. “Thank you.” They say quietly.

He gives them a smile and than asks, “Do you want to read or do you want me to read?”

“The latter, if that’s alright with you?” They sign.

“Of course.”

From there Blinky started reading out loud, Duross closed their eyes, simply listening to Blinky’s storytelling at least until, they weren’t. Blinky felt a small weight on his upper right shoulder, to which he stopped reading for a second to look beside him. He turned to see Duross’ head on his shoulder, with their eyes closed. His face darkened before regaining his composure.

“Duross?” No response, and no reaction.

“I guess they were really exhausted.”

It made sense, they had been through a lot. Blinkous just hoped that he could help them through it.

A couple of hours later, Aaarrrgghh, Blinky’s more recent roommate, and current best friend had walked into the library, grinning.

“Blinky!” He says loudly, before being shushed by Blinky.

“Please be quiet, Duross is sleeping.”

Aaarrrgghh looked around the library in confusion; not seeing Blinky in any of his regular spots, “Who Dur-ross?” He asks quietly, now moving around the library before looking at one of the corners where Blinky and Duross sat.

“It’s pronounced Duross, my good friend,” Blinky explains smiling at his friend, “And to answer your question, Duross has been here in Trollmarket for about a decade or so now, they’re a good friend of mine.” Blinky finishes explaining as he looks at Duross with a specific type of fondness in his eyes.

Aaarrrgghh smirks, “You like them?”

Blinky’s head immediately shot up, with his cheeks several shades darker than normal.
“No! They’re just my friend!” Blinky says, taken aback by the question, he said it a lot louder than before.

“Blinky!” He says gesturing to the troll beside him.

Blinky let out a bunch of trollish swears, as Duross opens their eyes groggily.

“Hmmm? What’s going on?” They say quietly.

“Nothing of importance. You should go back to sleep my friend, you need it.” Blinky says, as he starts humming a small tune.

“Alright, thank you, Blinkous.” They whisper.

A few minutes later they were asleep again.

“Would you do me a favour and set up some of the blankets in the spare room?” Blinky asks the Krubera in front of him.

Aaarrrgghh nodded and headed to the spare room.

Blinky waited patiently for Aaarrrgghh to return, and took that time to think about what Aaarrrgghh had said.

He carefully took out a book and quill from his pocket and started writing his thoughts down.

He hadn’t even realized that there was the possibility of liking them. Aaarrrgghh, for the short period of time that he’d been roommates with Blinky, could read Blinky like a book. Aaarrrgghh was very observant; so with one glance, it made sense he could guess what was going on, even when Blinky himself didn’t.

A few minutes later, Aaarrrgghh came back, and spoke, “Hi, Blinky.”

Blinky smiles and picks up Duross as gently as he can, and moves them to the spare room.

As he places them in the nest, he smiles fondly at them before going back to the library.

A few moments later he came back, and sat across from Aaarrrgghh.

“You like them?” Aaarrrgghh asks again

“Maybe. I’m not sure.”

Aaarrrgghh smiles reassuringly, “That okay. You have time.”

Blinky smiles, “Thank you for reminding me.”

“You welcome. They Kitlar?”

“You are correct my friend, they are indeed Kitlar; like Ballustra, Kanjigar’s partner. They’re not as hot-headed as most though.” Blinky smiles as he gets up from his spot, and sits on a chair.

Aaarrrggghh nodded, before asking, “Why they not sleep?”

Blinky sighed and two of his eyes looked at the floor.

“Akkafoe passed,” His voice hitched, “They were close, as far as I’m aware. They’ve been working at Akkafoe’s shop for awhile.”

“Oh.” Aaarrrgghh said, a frown becoming apparent on his features.

“Yeah,” Blinky nodded solemnly, before asking, “Did you want to try reading again today, Aaarrrgghh?”

Aaarrrggghh shook his head, and lied down on the ground.

Blinky laughs, and pulls out his book and quill again, and attempts to sort out his thoughts, and calm his mind.

— A few hours later —

Duross woke up in an unfamiliar cave. They immediately panicked, and screamed.

Aaarrrgghh who had since than moved to his room to sleep, jumped up and sprinted to the spare room, his eyes and marks glowing. Duross’ eyes widened as they realized what troll was in front of them, they immediately stopped, and held their breath.
A million thoughts went through their head, ‘How is he here? I thought I was in trollmarket when I woke up before?!,’ and ‘One of Gunmar’s Generals! How am I in one piece?!’

The troll walked towards them, after looking around.

Duross turned towards the wall, their spikes now visible. And even in the dark, Aaarrrgghh could tell they were visibly trembling.

Upon realizing this, he backed away and went back to his room, and sat there trembling.

Blinky covered his ears for a few seconds before hearing it stop. His mind didn’t process this until a few minutes later when he heard whimpers from the living quarters.

He quickly grabbed the lantern he was using to help him read. With the lantern in hand he rushed down the stairs and checked Aaarrrgghh’s room, and saw Aaarrrgghh curled in a corner with his marks glowing.

He than walked towards the spare room and saw Duross with their spikes out defensively, not that it was fully apparent, as it was clear that they hadn’t been sharpened in a very long time.

Both trolls were trembling and whimpering, he had noticed. He walked over to Aaarrrgghh in his room, and placed his hand just above his shoulder, before speaking, “Aaarrrgghh?”

Aaarrrgghh visibly jumps and instinctively grabs the troll’s wrist almost twisting it, before growling at the troll.

“Hey it’s okay. It’s just me, Blinky.” He says, knowing that he either had a nightmare, and was sleep walking or Duross’ scream alarmed him and he came to see if they were in danger. Aaarrrgghh immediately lets go, and sighs.
“Are you okay, my friend?”

“Felt... like before... again... but Aaarrrgghh not important now.” He gestured towards the spare room.

“You sure you’ll be fine, for now?” He asks, a worried expression on his face.

“Yes. Go!”

Blinky takes a torch and lights it, before placing it back where it was before, lighting up some of the room.

Blinky than walks over to the spare room. He walks in, and lights another torch and places it in the place it was before. Duross turns around, upon seeing the light, and sees Blinky.

“Blinkous?” They say, their voice trembling.

“Hey Duross. Are you okay?”

“What are you doing here? Why was Aaarrrgghh, one of Gunmar’s Generals in this room? Where are we? Are you okay?”

“Slow down Duross. Take a deep breath.” He says calmly.

They take a few deep breaths, than asks again, “Where are we?”

“We’re in my living quarters of my cave. It’s an extension of my library. Specifically the spare room.”

“Okay.”

“I’m here because I heard you scream, and than you and Aaarrrgghh whimpering.”

“About that, why is he in your cave?!”

“He’s no longer a Gumm-Gumm. I think he should tell you his story if he wants, because it’s not my story to tell. He’s also my roommate.”

Duross looked at him in disbelief.

“Anyways, are you alright?” He asks gently.

“I’m not sure. I think I need a bit of time to process this.”

“Alright, I’m going to talk to Aaarrrgghh now, and see how he’s doing.”

“What do you mean see how he’s doing?!”

“Presumably, he got freaked out, because of your reaction of fear, and went back to his room terrified.”

“Oh.”

“Come up when you’re ready.” He says as he waves goodbye to them and walks over to Aaarrrgghh’s room.

“Hey, Aaarrrgghh, I’m back. How are you feeling?”

Upon hearing this Aaarrrgghh uncurls and sits up, his marks have now faded along with his eyes.

His eyes were full of fear, and as Blinky walked closer to sit beside him, Aaarrrgghh turned to face the wall.

“Not... better... scared... not you, or Duross.” He says before sucking in a breath, “Myself. Scared... of... me. Not normal. Coward.”

“You’ve been through a lot Aaarrrgghh, it makes sense that you reacted the way you did,” He says sitting beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder, to which Aaarrrgghh jumps a good distance away from Blinky.

“My sincerest apologies, my friend, I forgot.”

“Blinky okay.” Aaarrrgghh said in reply, walking closer to Blinky.

“Aaarrrgghh you’re not a coward, for fearing your old self. You were raised in a harmful environment and that’s affected you, a lot, in ways that even I can’t imagine. Just remember you are not a bad troll.”

Aaarrrgghh smiles and says, “Thank you, Blinky.”

“If you want to join me, I’ll be in the library.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

—————A Hour later ————

Blinky sat at one of the desks in his library, reading out loud. Aaarrrgghh sat by the desk listening to Blinky’s storytelling.

Duross walked up the stairs and says, “Hey Blinky.”

“You came. Good! Now you guys can have an official introduction.”

Aaarrrgghh gets up from his spot and hesitantly held out his hand as he says, “I Aaarrrgghh. You?”

“Duro, it’s a lot easier than saying Duross.” Duross says taking his hand hesitantly. Aaarrrgghh visibly flinched but shook it anyways.

“Duro. You right, a lot easy.”

“A Krubera with strange markings, fur, and that glows green when angered. Interesting.” They say quietly.

“So anyways what’s your story?” Duross signs as Blinky translates.

Aaarrrgghh looks at Blinky, “Explain for me?”

“Of course, my dear friend.”