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quietpagan · 7 years ago

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TH What Falls and What Grows 16

What would the world be, once bereft of wet and wildness? Let them be left, O let them be left, wildness and wet, long live the weeds and the wildness yet.

- Gerard Manley Hopkins

Pain was what woke her, and what kept her from waking.

The blue-black place she was floating in seemed familiar, but her mind was too blurred to recognize it. Some thing pained her greatly, and she began to panic. Irrationally, she thought of the witch-hunts in Germany and in England, where they took the unusual and the passionate and they killed them for their differences.

“I didn’t mean to,” she murmured, falling back on the preferred language of her childhood. “I’ll do better…”

“You have done nothing to incur such hatred,” an echoing voice answered, but she was too muddled to accept it.

“You must stay still,” said a voice, so quietly that she could not heed it.

“Do not let them take me away,” she pleaded. The witch-hunts scared her so badly. What if her village decided that she was too unruly? What if she was hanged for her fights with the boys? What if she slipped up, said something too strange, did something that upset the wrong person, and someone found a mole or a birthmark on her body and took her away, away, away…

“Nobody is going to take you away.”

“She’s insensible...”

“Useless…” “Stranger…”

She struggled to rise, but found that she couldn’t get up. Her limbs were bound by invisible bonds, and fear flooded her mind in freezing waves. Had they caught her? Had she been stolen? She tried to move again and the bonds only tightened, and just when she was about ready to faint in fear agony pressed into her side, as if the Devil himself was trying to cut out her kidney.

She cried out and flinched as violently as she could, but her entire body was held in a tight grip. Helpless; vulnerable; utterly incapable of defending herself. They’d stab her with knives and claws and teeth, fill her lungs with water and twist her bones with magic and peel her skin away with fire until she couldn’t recognize herself, until she gave in, until she forgot…

…but she never forgot.

The pain was softly fading, and with it ebbed the choking fog in her mind. They may have fought because they wanted to live, to prove their worth, but she fought because she wanted to go home.

The edges of the Void slowly became recognizable, and she dimly considered the fact that it would, eventually, become her final home.

She breathed for several long moments, until she was certain that her voice wouldn’t shake. It did anyway.

“Can’t believe I’m gonna have to spend eternity with you assholes,” she murmured.

The ghostly presence of Kanjigar smirked down at her. She glared at him, and then violently started, jerking against her bonds so suddenly that she felt her limbs bruising.

“Am I fucking dead!” “You are alive,” said Kanjigar. “Currently.” “Thank God,” Alexandra sighed, her heart drumming angrily. “’M not ready.” “You certainly are not,” Kanjigar agreed. “You still have to kill Gunmar, after all, and re-integrate the Changelings into troll society.”

“Lemme end poverty and turn off the sun while I’m at it,” Alex said.

“Arrogance doesn’t suit you, Trollhunter. And you will be needing that sun,” Kanjigar said. With mist still clouding her mind, he sounded even more confusing than normal.

“What would happen to the armor if the sun went out,” she absently wondered. Kanjigar ignored her.

“Your foolishness nearly got you killed,” he said. Alex tried to wave him off, but was forced to roll her eyes instead.

“This is serious, Alexandra,” Kanjigar said tightly, startling her with the use of her name. “There is much to be done, and you will not be able to perform your duty until you are completely healed. Your decision to bleed to death instead of asking for help will cost you.” “I couldn’t let Vendel see,” Alex said. “I heal too fast with troll medicine.” Kanjigar only shook his head. “Trust begins with you, Trollhunter. You will never succeed at your duty if you do not learn to trust your mentors.”

“’Thought you’d like seeing me push people away,” Alex muttered cuttingly. “You were certainly good at it.” Kanjigar’s nostrils flared, and Alex felt a tiny wave of triumph. She was too tired to take proper amusement at his annoyance.

“Heard your son used to date a Changeling.”

Kanjigar just sighed. She saw him getting ready to change the subject.

“’Wonder if he has a type,” she mused. “He sure attached himself to me pretty quickly.”

“Trollhunter – “

Something poked at her injured side again and she winced.

“He’s not half bad, once you get through the arrogance and the daddy issues. We’re pretty comfortable already – it wouldn’t be that big of a push to up the physical side of our acquaintance – “

In hindsight, deliberately angering a powerful ghost while immobilized wasn’t the best plan, but Alexandra was exhausted and slightly delirious with pain, so she could later excuse herself for not thinking straight. Something semi-solid passed through her chest with a cold, throbbing ache, and another slammed through her head with sharp, ice-like shards that instantly gave her a headache. Kanjigar’s glowing fist hovered a half-inch in front of her face before he once again composed himself.

“Rule number two,” Alex hisses, her eyes blurring. You did have a problem with that one.

“You have liberty to care for your son, now that you’re dead,” she whispered instead, clenching her teeth against her emerging migraine. “The problem is, you’re dead. You’ve missed your chance to be a decent father, and you don’t get to be an ass about it when I’m fixing your damage. You could thank me for saving his life, you know.”

Kanjigar turned away from her and floated off, his shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists.

“Your deliberate misdirections cost you opportunity,” hissed one of the voices of the council.

“Arrogance.”

“Foolish Changeling!”

“If you are to succeed, you must wield the power of the sun.”

“What? Where the hell did that come from? I already do,” Alex said, vaguely flexing her fingers as if to summon her sword. The blobs of blue light that swirled around the ceiling pulsed and twisted among each other.

“A troll cannot use sunlight…”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kanjigar spoke from just behind her head, startling her with his sudden presence.

“The amulet – “

“Jesus Christ, fuck you!”

“ – Was originally created for a Changeling. How it reacts to you and how you may wield its powers will be different.” “What do you mean? What different powers? You couldn’t have written this down in one of your extensive diaries?” “You must discover for yourself how to use the amulet to your best advantage,” said Kanjigar, as calmly as if they had never tiffed. The agony in her side lessened a little bit more as she strained her invisible bonds again.

“You’re being vague on purpose, you dick.”

For a split second his eyes slid down to meet hers, and the tiniest, shittiest little smile etched across his mouth.

“Being Trollhunter is a learning process,” he said. “We cannot simply give you the answers.”

Alexandra felt a stone drop into her stomach as she realized that pissing off the person who could best relate to and help her had actually been a horrible idea.

Getting under his skin for his treatment of her new friend was, however, very possibly worth it.

“Fine by me,” she said. “You assholes give shitty advice anyway.” Kanjigar, the smug bastard, said nothing, apparently content in the knowledge that he had won this meeting. Alexandra decided that she was too exhausted to care.

“Fuck you for nothing, then. I’m going back.”

She stopped struggling against her invisible bonds and finally let her body relax, accepting the pain in her side as a part of her reality and ceasing her fight against the fear and uncertainty swirling in the back of her mind.

The blue glow of the existential-nightmare-room began to fade, and the weight and warmth of the living world slowly enveloped her body.

Kanjigar watched her settle down, and she in turn watched him fade away. He briefly turned his eyes to hers, and she saw the very ghost of a smile before he and it disappeared.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and then the Void was gone.

Being stuck in bed was awful on a regular sick day, but adding a very unhappy Vendel to the situation, plus a painful injury, plus the fact that she wasn’t on a bed so much as a cold stone slab, just made everything so very wonderful.

Vendel wasn’t half bad company, honestly, when he wasn’t being a dick, but Alexandra had annoyed him and so got the brunt of his temper. He patched her up, tended to her wound daily, but for the most part she was forced to either sleep or listen to him ramble about the finer points of troll society and how exactly, with notes on the precise angles, to cut a gemstone. She learned a lot about patience in those first few days.

Vendel’s trapping stones kept her totally still and she had nothing better to do than wait until she was well enough to move. Personally she considered his precautions to be a bit excessive – surely being able to at least bounce her foot wouldn’t re-open her wound – but the old troll was extremely unsubtle about how much he enjoyed inconveniencing her, especially since it was her fault in the first place.

Blinky and AAARRRGGHH visited regularly, once Vendel had given them the clear-all to sit and drawl on for hours about history, lore, battle tactics, and plans for the Bridge situation. Alex actually enjoyed listening to Blinky’s lectures, but she wasn’t allowed to take notes, since Vendel insisted on keeping her completely paralyzed. Any time that she was allowed up was supervised, which Alexandra could admit was a bit of paranoid precaution that she had brought upon herself.

Draal even took it upon himself to risk the travel through the market, although he had AAARRRGGHH to escort him.

“You really need a bath,” Alexandra noted, looking him over. He was still covered in goblin remains, which had more or less bonded to his skin and stuck unpleasantly between his spikes.

“This is as far as I have dared go,” he responded quietly. She knew that if the members of Trollmarket attacked him, he would not fight back or defend himself. AAARRRGGHH and Blinky couldn’t risk themselves by doing much more than walking him back and forth from the Heartstone to her, now his, room, and she wouldn’t ask them to. Until she either restored his honor or changed troll society, he was hers to protect, and without her by his side he was to be considered an open target for ridicule and violence.

He visited her on the third day, which was when Vendel finally allowed her to move her right hands when supervised. They lay outside of the trapping circle, and although the stones made them slow she still smacked Draal in the arm.

“You said you spoke to my father,” he murmured, apparently unable to feel the tiny blow. His eyes turned to hers and the straining hope in them was almost painful.

“…Did he…speak of, of me? At all?” “We had a bit of a fight,” Alex said honestly. “We usually do. He hasn’t really talked about you yet. I think that he believes that if he doesn’t say anything about you, I won’t remember you exist. He certainly doesn’t like us being friends.” “But you are his successor,” Draal replied, pointed eyebrows furrowing. “Surely he cannot disapprove of you, even if you are argumentative and obnoxious.” “Thanks,” Alexandra grumbled. “He’s not happy about you being close with another Changeling.” It was the first time that she had admitted such out loud, to an actual living person, and she was very quietly proud at doing it. Draal looked at his hands then, clenched between his knees, covered in gore and smears of dirt.

“But he was happy to see you back in Trollmarket.” Draal remained silent, but she saw his back relax a bit. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry he had such a terrible father, but the idiot worshiped Kanjigar like a hero, and truly insulting the guy wouldn’t make Draal any happier nor would it make him acknowledge the dead troll’s faults.

“Ah, Master Alexandra! I am glad to see you awake.”

Alex and Draal turned their eyes to the entrance to the Heartstone, where Blinky and AAARRRGGHH were coming around the corner.

AAARRRGGHH dropped a small pile of books next to her one mobile hand and she picked up the first, holding it above her so that she could see it.

“I thought that we might go over properties of the Heartstones, once we discuss what is to be done about the Changeling problem.” Blinky eyed her in a weird way then, as if expecting her to already have a solution.

“Well, I’m stuck here until Vendel decides to release me from captivity, so if you want to go up and find out yourself what they’re up to, you’re free to do so.”

She twitched the book away from AAARRRGGHH, who was sniffing it with interest. Blinky didn’t bat an eye.

“It could be done, of course,” he said, and from his pocket he pulled an odd-looking wooden mask.

“The means is not quite the issue, but the timing. You are incapacitated for the time being, and we either should wait or send someone else. Likely, me.” “You look so enthusiastic.” Blinky chuffed, turning the mask around in his hands. “Quite the contrary, I assure you. But I will endeavor to answer the call if and when I should receive it! Never let it be known that a Galadrigal turned away from a fight!” “It does not have to be you, Blinky,” said Draal. He reached across Alex and Blinky handed him the mask. “I am currently of little use. Our Trollhunter cannot spar or practice, and I could not teach her anyway with my effective banishment painting a target across my back. I should be the one to go.”

Alex looked between the two, weakly waving her hand to try to get someone’s attention.

“I thought we were discussing this; not deciding already. Either way you would have to go at night, without protection, and you would have to get in and out by yourself and undetected. I think that we should wait.”

Blinky promptly ignored her, still speaking over her chest to Draal.

“But with night fallen, Bular will be active, which will be a terrible danger for whoever goes on top of the risks of Changelings and goblins.” “Why don’t I just go?” asked Alex. “I’ve got the Leoht Stone, sunlight’s not going to do anything to me.” Blinky stared at her with wide eyes, as if stunned by such a simple solution. He exchanged a brief look with AAARRRGGHH, and then cleared his throat. “If that is what you suggest, Master Alexandra, then I see no fault in your reasoning.”

“Great. Now we just need to hope that Bular and his minions don’t cause any trouble for as long as it takes for Vendel to let me use my limbs.” “Do not hold your breath, Trollhunter,” grumbled the troll in question, the thunk of his Heartstone staff announcing his arrival. “Your situation will continue to be as it currently is, until I am satisfied of your ability to keep yourself out of trouble.”

He slowly trudged past the four of them, shaking his head in a way that Alex supposed was supposed to make her feel guilty.

“For a Trollhunter, at least.”

“Glad to see your confidence in me,” Alex called after him. She clenched her fist, and the one hand she could move was then covered in its metal gauntlet. Vendel had tried to keep the amulet from her for the first few minutes after she’d awoken, until he realized that she was adept at summoning it, even when he put it in an anti-magic box. Unfortunately, she couldn’t summon her armor on the bits of her that were still immobilized by Vendel’s trapping stones, so when she’d summoned the amulet it just kind of sadly bounced off of the lines of light encasing her, settling down as close to her shoulder as it could get. She had the distinct feeling that it could get through the lines if it really tried, but occasionally it decided to actually follow the rules. As much as she wanted to and did occasionally throw it across the room, she had become rather fond of the stupid glowing thing, and not just because it was a literal part of her.

Her mind was still a tiny bit scattered from her painful ordeal and her trip to the Void and all the weird dreams that Kanjigar had been sending her. She wondered if she could make the amulet a literal part of her.

That would be handy.

“What if I ate it,” she mused out loud.

“Ate what?” Alex opened her eyes, not having realized that she’d closed them. Lying around and doing nothing was exhausting.

“The amulet,” she murmured, deciding to just give it up and settle back down, closing her eyes to the three confused trolls staring at her.

“It would be so much more useful if the amulet wasn’t so much a material thing as a part of me. I could summon it and dismiss it just like the armor.” “Mm. Interesting, but unlikely. The amulet channels your wishes and emotions through it to give you the power to summon your armor. Taking the amulet out of the equation and skipping the middle-man, as the humans say, would indeed be useful to you, but not to your successor, or theirs. The amulet belongs to you and you alone – for now. But it also holds onto the Trollhunters who came before you.”

Alex grimaced.

“No, thank you. I do not want a part of Kanjigar resting inside of me. Forget the whole idea.” “You are tiring yourself out, Trolhunter,” said Vendel off to the side. She heard Draal shift to make way for him. Something warm pressed against the patch he’d placed on her side, and a tension she hadn’t noticed eased off.

“You strain your bonds when you speak. Desist, or I will add another stone and make you desist.” Alexandra didn’t dignify that with an answer, knowing that he would make good of his threat. Talking really wasn’t something that was supposed to happen when one was stuck inside of trapping stones, and he’d only lifted enough off so that she could speak to Draal. But her jaw and her neck muscles were aching from the effort.

She hadn’t felt this useless and weak since her detox year in the ‘70’s, where all she could do for a month was tremor, throw up, and wallow in panic attacks and heart palpitations. At least she could move then.

“Perhaps I should check the tunnels,” Draal was saying, his voice a distant whisper. “It is almost day on the surface.” “You cannot forget the goblins,” Blinky replied softly.

Their voices turned into blurred murmurs, and Alex didn’t feel it when she fell asleep.

The noise woke her this time, since the Heartstone was most often very quiet. Something outside in the main market was making a humongous racket, with a lot of clanging and shouting.

From the feel of the bonds around her she knew that she was under the full force of every trapping stone Vendel possessed, which meant that her visitors/chaperones had left.

There was an odd smell, a burning smell, and she opened her eyes.

The acid-green glare of Stricklander’s triumphant face gazed back.

And Alexandra could. Not. Move.

“And look what we have here,” he sneered, leering over her like a particularly ugly bat. Another Changeling peered around him, looking exceedingly amused.

“A prisoner?”

“Not one of ours,” Stricklander said, looking over Alexandra’s prone form. “I…oh, but what’s this?” He reached a knife through the glowing bars and pried the amulet out of her pocket, where it had been pulsing in time with her frantic heartbeat. The glow of it alighted upon his face and he grinned, clenching it in his fist as he laughed in Alexandra’s face.

“Apparently she is. I’ve been looking forward to meeting our Changeling Trollhunter.” Someone get the fuck in here, Alex thought desperately, trying to make a noise, a movement, anything. The trapping stones prevented her from even summoning her armor.

“Wunderbar,” hissed the other Changeling. “Do you recognize her?” Stricklander’s eyes roamed disinterestedly over her face and body.

“No,” he said, to her eternal relief. “But there is some familiarity. Unfortunately, a few have fallen by the wayside in the past few centuries. I would not be surprised if she were one of those who have not checked in in quite a while.” About forty years or so, give or take three hundred. Alexandra had been very careful to cover her human family’s tracks, doubling back to burn records when they first moved, and over the centuries had taken care to either leave no paper trail or destroy any that had been created. Technology and better censuses made things more difficult, but she knew how to establish and destroy an identity. The Janus Order hadn’t known of her location or seen her face since the mid-seventeen-hundreds, when she had last been dragged to a meeting.

“Should we take her back to Bular?” “No,” Stricklander replied as he fingered his capelet of knives. “She is immobile and stranded here, in the most perfect of opportunities. Bular doesn’t care who kills the Trollhunters, as long as they are dead. We have the amulet in any case.” Alexandra had never felt such fear and helplessness in her life. Vendel’s trapping stones, once merely aggravating and annoying, now would be the absolute death of her. She silently screamed and screamed for somebody to come, for somehow this to be a dream, for her bonds to magically break, but nothing came. Black started to blur the edges of her vision and white-hot pains pierced her chest, even though she couldn’t even hyperventilate. Her hands and toes were filled with needles and she was praying, pleading to a God that she still believed in that something happen, something happen, something happen –

A reddish-gold blur shot suddenly through the air, hitting Stricklander squarely in the back; he went down with an outraged cry as Vendel launched himself into the room, picking up his staff and grabbing the arm of the other Changeling in one long, fluid movement. The Changeling was swiftly thrown through the air, where he struck the edge of Alexandra’s table and tumbled to the floor, his flailing arms knocking several of the trapping stones awry.

Alexandra hastened to stand under the moggy influence of the remaining stones, her limbs straining as if she were swimming through mud. Slowly, laboriously, she pushed the rest of the glowing stones out of alignment and unceremoniously fell off the slab and onto the floor. Her still-healing nose broke motherfucking AGAIN as she landed face-down, but she summoned her amulet straight out of the green asshole’s pocket and donned her armor.

Above her, Stricklander snarled and attacked Vendel, only to have his bony hand caught in a fist larger than his entire head. When he tried to pull back, Vendel squeezed. He was forced to release the broken hand when Stricklander sent a badly-aimed volley of knives into his shoulder, but he gained ground again when the Changeling yelped and stumbled, a bloody streak from Alexandra’s sword running across his exposed calf.

He muttered and oath and booked it, leaving his fallen companion to yell at him in indignation. Vendel dodged around the slab, reaching down to help Alexandra to sit.

“The Changelings have attacked the main market,” he said in a rush, grabbing her by her chest-plate and hauling her up until her back was against the table. “Half of Heartstone is overrun. You must – “ “You need to get back out there,” Alex interrupted, clumsily smacking his hands away. “Stop worrying about me, I’m damn useless! Get back out there and help them!”

Vendel promptly dropped her and hurried back out, moving surprisingly fast for such an old troll. Alexandra struggled to get up, and fell over again. She couldn’t catch her breath, and her vision swam with tears and dizziness. Her panic attack wasn’t helped by her infirmary. After five days of constantly straining against the trapping stones her muscles were coiled and sore, and without the pressure of her bonds her entire body felt weightless and off-balanced. Her hips especially were paining her, and the healing wound in her side throbbed and pulled angrily.

She reached up and gripped the edge of the table behind her, pulling until she was strewn backward over the surface. Her armor loudly scraped against the stone and she finally heaved herself upright, only to fall over again when the other Changeling knocked her back into the table, fleeing for the exit. There was a clang, and a yelp, and a Changeling in human form appeared around the corner, dodging both his troll attacker and his scarpering comrade.

He spotted her and snarled, twirling a pair of stone sabers through towards her. Boldened by her weakened state, he attacked, and the only reason Alexandra was able to keep her head was because she wasn’t able to keep her balance. Her hands fumbled on the table and down she went, a saber slicing the air above her head. She managed to twist her landing so that she slammed into his legs, making him cry out as her armor banged into his bony shins. His eyes glowed with yellow fire as he threw her off, and something in their light threw a sudden memory into her head.

“A troll cannot use sunlight.”

Kanjigar and the ghostly council had been haunting her dreams every time she slept, telling her the same damn things over and over until she wanted to destroy the sun just to shut them up.

“A troll cannot use sunlight.”

What the fuck had they meant!?

“A troll cannot use sunlight.”

(but a Changeling

could)

A TROLL CANNOT USE SUNLIGHT.

Without a single thought Alexandra shifted and threw out her arms; instead of the Daylight sword materializing, bright light spewed from her gloves, coating her arms in the glow up to the elbows. The beams were both solid and fluid, and she raised all four arms and slammed them down on the Changeling’s shoulders. He did not turn to stone, but his skin sizzled and burned at an alarming rate, and within a few seconds he was still on the ground, dead and blackened with horrific burns.

Alexandra yelped in pain and frantically scraped at her arms, which were steaming. Urgent, she banished the gloves and bracers and found her stone skin mottled and alarmingly reddened, tiny cracks glowing as if there was magma under her skin, which it certainly felt like. She threw back her head and screamed in agony.

“ShhhiiiiiIIIIT! AAHH!”

If she could move she could get some fucking water! The pain in her arms was all-consuming and she felt it crawling, destroying her hands and forearms, her heart pounding nauseatingly in her chest and throat as she strained against her sluggish body.

“Can someone get me some fucking water!”

With all the commotion outside her call was unanswered, as she’d expected it to be. The fire slowly, slowly began to cool on its own, but it took its fucking time.

Trolls didn’t sweat, but Alex dearly wished she could, just to get some of the horrible heat out of her body.

She looked over to her side, where the figure of a bright red troll wavered through her dizzy eyes; the Changeling’s attacker, who had driven him into the Heartstone in the first place.

“And what do you want?!”

The troll shrugged and turned away. “Whatever.”

Damn him, he’d seen the whole thing.

“Shit,” Alex growled. “Alright, get back here and help me up.”

The red troll put down his bloodied mace and pushed her up from behind, until she could cling to the wall of the Heartstone for balance. Her hands left bloody smears on the crystal, which soaked them up with a golden glow.

“How many are out there? Is it only Changelings?”

He shook his head and then answered in Trollish, “Goblins too, and an anstramonstrum.” Fuck.

She had no idea what to do against an anstramonstrum, having never encountered one before. Goblins were easy enough to dispatch but what the hell does one do about a growing carnivorous mist?

“Get me outside,” she growled.

They limped and stumbled outside of the Heartstone, where chaos reigned across the chasm. The market was in an uproar of rampaging goblins, attacking Changelings in troll and human forms, and, on the far side of the market, the raging, thundering mass that was the anstramostrum.

Alexandra slid her arm off her escort’s shoulder.

“Go get those trapping stones,” she said to him. “They’re around Vendel’s table back in the Heartstone. Some will be on the floor. Bring them back here.” “Fine,” he grumbled. Alexandra ignored him and summoned her sword, which she fumbled and dropped. A pile of goblins came charging at her that moment and she wondered if she should just let them eat her, and then she summoned her sword again and cut the pile to pieces. Her hand and arm felt like they were being flayed; blood turned the handle of her blade slick and she needed to hold it with two hands.

As long as nothing came and made her move her legs, she was fine.

A scream drew her attention and a whelp and his parent scrambled out from behind a pile of old televisions, a Changeling with a heavy club stalking after them.

Alexandra stumbled forward and fell into him, unable to bring her arms up enough to stab. The Changeling was caught off guard and Alex bit deep into his shoulder, making him scream out. He tried to club her, but the weapon was not meant for close combat, and Alexandra was able to wrench it away from him. He swiped his claws over her face, forcing her to rear back to avoid losing another eye. The pain actually distracted her from the burns on her arms and she retaliated, kneeing him in the groin and making sure that every elbow landed in his gut as they fell to the ground.

It was graceless, and inelegant, but when the fight was over she shooed the child and parent away, her sword and a shaft of wood from a broken stall holding her on her feet.

Trollmarket actually seemed to be doing a fairly good job of defending itself, considering that its denizens were not primarily warriors, but when a blue blur passed Alex and barreled through a hoard of charging goblins, she understood.

Draal was covered in gore and debris but he looked like he was having the time of his life. With a thundering roar he threw himself into battle with two Changelings at once, defeating one and smacking away the other with her limp body.

He dropped his impromptu weapon and his eyes landed on Alex.

“Trollhunter! You are injured – “ “ – I’m good,” she interrupted. “How many are left?” “Not many at all,” he replied with a grin. He rolled his shoulders and balled his hands into fists. “I’ve taken out the majority, but there is an anstramonstrum, and – “ He paused for a second to slam his fist into a Changeling’s face. Alexandra sliced her ex-fellow’s torso and smacked him away with her staff. They tossed the body aside and jumped aside themselves as a pair of trolls ran past them.

“ – And we still do not know how they even got in.” “I’ll handle that,” Alex said. “And I’m going to try trapping the anstramonstrum. Where are Blinky and AAARRRGGHH?” Draal pointed. Near the bridge entrance Blinky was in the middle of the fray, throwing large stones and smacking with a spear every Changeling and goblin that was surrounding AAARRRGGHH, who was deliberately making a target of himself.

They’re fine for now.

“I’ve got the crystals.”

Alexandra jumped, not having noticed her Whatever-Troll’s return. He looked exceedingly put-upon, but held out a bag that glowed from within.

“The trapping stones?” Taking the bag and nodding, Alexandra slung her arm over Draal’s pointy shoulder and pointed him to the gyre side of Trollmarket, where the anstramonstrum was wheedling through the stalls, a dozen trolls running for their lives away from its mass.

“It’s an alive thing,” Alex said, as Draal stood and just outright carried her across the floor. “It’s not dissipating into the air, so it’s semi-solid. But I can’t slice it, burn it, or…well…I guess I could try to burn it.” Her raw arms were chaffing against Draal’s skin and she wanted to faint.

I really don’t want to try.

“Either way, I don’t know how to kill it, so we’re going to have to trap it until we can find out how to.”

“And you are sure that this will work?” Draal put her down and she started laying the stones out.

“No, I don’t,” Alexandra admitted. “It’s the best I got right now.” Draal took the bag from her and put down the remaining stones, spreading them into an enormous circle that touched the walls of the market.

They waited.

And the stupid cloud went down the wrong hallway.

Draal cursed in Trollish and sped away, ignoring Alexandra when she called out for him.

“Draal! We’ll just set up the stones somewhere else! Draal! What the hell are you going to do?!” “Make it angry,” he called back.

Their antics were drawing the attention of a distant crowd, and through it pushed AAARRRGGHH, Blinky clinging to his side as they ran across the emptied passage.

“Master Alexandra! What can we do?” “I can’t fucking MOVE! Take these stones and get them down that other hallway! DRAAL!”

Blinky shooed AAARRRGGHH in front of him and the larger troll sped up, skidding to a halt just outside of the trapping circle. His hand hovered over a crystal just as they heard a voice cry out.

“Wait!”

Silence reigned for a half moment that lasted an eternity, and then Draal appeared, turning down a far corner.

“Get away!” Directly behind him, the anstramonstrum consumed everything in its path, shattering crystals and swallowing stalls. It ignored other trolls still scattered in the market, focused on the blue troll and him alone. Draal curled into a roll and careened down the corridor, stopping directly in front of the crystal circle.

“Wait for it,” he murmured. The anstramonstrum continued on its destructive path, intent on devouring he who had royally pissed it off.

Draal walked calmly around the circle, until it stood between him and the deadly cloud.

It got closer and closer, aiming directly for him, and then just before it entered the circle it cut a sharp right and fucking went around it.

AAARRRGGHH picked up Alexandra and dodged to the side, nearly slamming her into a stumbling Draal. The deadly cloud’s momentum shot it down the path, but it quickly turned itself around, cracking with purple lightning as it missed its target.

They sprinted around to the opposite side of the circle, and then Draal, the eternal, noble fool, stepped into it.

He spread his arms and was immediately paralyzed. The stones emitted their glowing bars, trapping him.

Alexanda wriggled out of AAARRRGGHH’s grip and stumbled forward with a cry.

The anstramonstrum flowed into the enormous circle of stones, swallowing Draal whole before it was stopped as well.

Alex’s stagger turned into a desperate sprint, and she flung herself through the bars of light. Half of her body was immersed in the black cloud, stinging her skin with a hundred thousand glowing knives, before she connected with something solid and sent it tumbling to the ground. A huge hand grabbed her by the back of her belt and dragged her and Draal out of the trapping circle, lifting them carefully over the yellow stones.

Draal was alive but unconscious. His tattoos glowed with pinpricks of purple light, cracks of which spread over his skin. His breathing was short and shallow, but he was alive.

“Thank God, you idiot,” Alex murmured, sitting back with relief.

Blinky finally caught up to them and pulled Alexandra away so that Vendel could reach Draal. There was still the distant sound of fighting, but she couldn’t continue. Pain and exhaustion finally overwhelmed her, and she fell backwards into AAARRRGGHH’s waiting hand.

Understandably, Blinky was having a completely, utterly horrible day.

He had not been put out at first at their Trollhunter falling asleep before he could start their lessons, given that sleeping was one of the many things that he wanted her to do that she just didn’t do. Her sleeping meant that she wasn’t going to be thinking about how terribly awkward Blinky was sure he had been during their talk. It had been the first time that Changelings had been brought up and he just knew that he’d almost given himself away.

He and AAARRRGGHH had been getting something to eat when several members of the crowd, in every part of Trollmarket, had suddenly starting attacking people. Goblins emerged from every corner and began destroying everything in sight, and several innocent trolls fell before anybody realized what exactly was going on.

There had to be dozens of Changelings, all armed to the teeth and accompanied by half a dozen goblins each. AAARRRGGHH had to keep Blinky from getting killed before it dawned on them that they were primary targets.

Blinky himself had actually been dragged away from the fray by two Changelings, separating him from his protector, before Draal had joined the fray with roars and thundering fists.

It was he that drove away the majority of combatants, tossing goblins through the air and downing the attacking Changelings with a fervor and competence that reminded who exactly Draal had been the son of. Many trolls were able to get to safety as he drew the majority of the fight to himself.

Blinky had wondered where Alexandra was before remembering that she was in the Heartstone, trapped and utterly at the mercy of any Changelings who decided to attack there. Frantically he had called to Vendel, who was fighting nearby, to remind him of their incapacitated Trollhunter.

He himself fought with fist, stone, and a fallen spear, but it was quickly becoming evident that he was more of a liability than an asset. AAARRRGGHH had noticed it, too, and he deliberately made a larger target of himself, leaving open chances for kill-strikes with every move he made and pretending to be slow and uncoordinated. The Changelings and goblins surrounded him, only to be picked off by Blinky, who darted between stalls and rocky outcrops to strike and then hide away again.

Fighting was not his forte under any sort of circumstances, but coupled with AAARRRGGHH’s presence and the need to keep him unharmed he was more than willing to fight tooth and nail to the best of his ability, however small his ability actually was.

It was a pity when, just as they were feeling victorious, an anstramonstrum made itself known on the opposite end of Trollmarket.

On the other side of the chasm surround the Heartstone, Alexandra herself was limping around with Draal’s help. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, done with their fights, dodged around debris and fallen bodies to try and reach them. A crowd was forming at a safe distance from the deadly black cloud and they urgently pushed through.

Alexandra, it seemed was trying to trap the monster. Blinky urged AAARRRGGHH ahead of him to help her, unable to keep up on his damned short legs.

He stumbled and fell when Draal deliberately stepped into the trapping circle, and the anstramonstrum swallowed him whole.

Alexandra herself saved Draal from being killed, and Blinky finally made it to them as AAARRRGGHH pulled them out of the trap.

Both were alive but grievously harmed, and Blinky was – quite understandably – having a very. Bad. Day.

Alexandra was finally allowed to move about when it was made clear that nobody could actually stop her, given that the trapping stones were currently in use. There was much to do in the aftermath of the fight, and she threw herself into it with an agitated fervor. Blinky and AAARRRGGHH kept close by her in the event that she finally realized that she was wounded and worn out, but it was clear that she was done with sitting around.

The wounds on her arms worried Blinky greatly but he was only allowed to wrap them up, and the same for the wound on her side. She healed remarkably fast, but it was very clear that she was in constant pain, and Blinky had the feeling that if she finally allowed herself to stop that she would not be able to get back up.

Many lives had been lost during the attack, but the majority of them belonged to their attackers. Alexandra and Vendel presided over the funeral rites of all the Heartstone trolls who had fallen, but in a curious display of mercy the Trollhunter also insisted on interment of the Changelings who had been killed.

Blinky and AAARRRGGHH, of course, knew the real reason why, but when Alexandra was questioned on her choice she merely said that it was her duty as Trollhunter to take care of the troll and human worlds, and that included those that fell in between.

It wasn’t easy – Changelings didn’t die like trolls did. Those that didn’t explode fell as humans did, as flesh-and-bone bodies instead of as stone. The Trollhunter bid them to be collected and set aside for her to take upstairs and deal with later, easing the minds of those concerned that their attackers would be entombed beside their dead friends.

Everyone uninjured helped clean up the mess, which included repairing stalls, clearing away rock and broken crystals, setting up further defenses on Trollmarket’s entrances, and replenishing supplies and goods that had been destroyed.

Alexandra actually did more for her reputation as Trollhunter in the first days after the attack than she had for every fight with Bular, when she tirelessly worked to repair what had been broken, whether that included property or the hearts of those who survived the attack. Blinky had never observed softness and warmth from their Trollhunter before, but as his fellows mourned and lamented she turned into an unexpected pillar of strength and comfort the like of which Blinky had not witnessed since Deya herself. Kanjigar had been strong, yes, and his community drew from that strength, but although he had been exceedingly kind he had never allowed himself to be emotionally available.

Alexandra, with her heart wrapped in lies and sharp knives, listened to every grieving troll’s sorrows, every complaint, every worry. As opposed to Kanjigar, who lent his strength to others, Alexandra seemed to draw from those around her. With every troll she talked to she stood a little taller, walked a little steadier, moved a little faster. Blinky knew that she was close to collapse no matter how useful she was making herself, but until she actually did buckle under the pressure that she put herself under, she was actually doing very well.

Draal, on the other hand.

Was an idiot, as both Vendel and Alexandra took pleasure in reminding him daily. Following the end of the battle he had been moved to the examination dwell, where he remained until he could stand without falling over.

Nobody was exactly sure what exactly happened to those killed by anstramonstrum. The working theory was that the mist actually dissolved and ate them, since there were never any bodies. Draal had only been encased in the mass for a few seconds, but those few seconds had eaten away at him. The entirety of his exposed skin was pitted and marked like acid rain on limestone, the lines and pockets glowing with a sickly purple. Alexandra, who had partially passed through the mist, also sported the effects of the smoke on her face and upper body. Draal, however, had breathed it in, and so was unable to do much of anything until Vendel healed his lungs.

His spirits were up however great his injuries, and he once again had a crowd of admirers and fans who had to be pushed out of the examination dwell almost hourly. There were rumors of changing his title, too. Draal had willingly put his life in danger to capture the anstramonstrum, on top of his efforts in the battles around Trollmarket, and he was hailed as a hero. His place in Heartstone was once again assured, and every troll who saw him welcomed him.

Once everything was mostly organized and the rebuilding was well on the way, there really were only two problems: how the Changelings had gotten in, and what to do about the anstramonstrum.

The anstramonstrum inside of its glowing trap was given a wide berth by the trolls of Heartstone. Unlike most things caught inside trapping stones, it was not motionless. The bars kept it from attacking anyone but it filled its prison from floor to ceiling, a great, evil mass swirling inside of golden light, a menacing column of black smoke and purple lightning. From Blinky’s extensive research on the subject they knew that it could only be returned to the crystal from whence it had come, which was utterly useless to them since they had no idea where it was.

The second problem was in the captured Changelings.

Alexandra had ordered them imprisoned, to be questioned by her later, but it was several days before she got the chance. Both Blinky and AAARRRGGHH accompanied her, despite her protests. She threatened and snarled at them, but both of them were in perfect health in comparison to her, and until she could lift her sword without bleeding there really wasn’t much she could do if they decided to ignore her orders. So, with great consternation on the part of their Trollhunter, the three of them made their way down to the dungeons.

Eleven Changelings had been captured in varying states of health. Every one of them instantly focused on Alexandra as they entered the dungeon.

She dismissed the guards.

“Ah, our illustrious sister,” drawled a skinny, lime-green Changeling. “Risen to the highest of offices. How very honored we are to be in your presence.”

“They don’t know about the Leoht Stone,” Alexandra whispered, just loudly enough for Blinky and AAARRRGGHH to hear. “We could use this to our advantage.”

Blinky was exceedingly uncomfortable with watching her interact with those whom he assumed she had once been fellows. Unaware of his discomfort, she approached the green Changeling.

“How did you get into Trollmarket?” “If this is your attempt at interrogation, I might laugh,” he replied, sneering down at her from his cage. Alexandra merely stared at him.

“I’m going to give you the chance to break from Gunmar. All of you.”

Blinky started forward but AAARRRGGHH grabbed his arm.

“Listen first,” his companion murmured, as the prisoners above them screamed in outrage. “Don’t insult us!”

“You are nothing more than pawns and tools to him,” the Hunter continued, “to be thrown out when no longer of use. If you switch sides, you’ll be – “ “Get fucked, traitor,” yelled another Changeling.

“Gunmar is trollkind’s salvation!” “That is what he tells you. But you all are not trolls. You are worthless to him.”

There were various jeers and yells, but Blinky noticed that the green Changeling was silently watching her. She in turn focused on him.

“And why would you pretend to care,” he demanded, playing with the edge of his cloak. “What is in this for you?” “Someone has to,” Alexandra said, quietly and contemplatively. “What I get is not having to kill all of you.” “You wouldn’t dare, Trollhunter. Their kind believes in honor and dignity. There is none in killing a helpless prisoner, is there?” Alexandra walked away from him and over to the wall where the chains holding the cages in the air were secured. She lowered several of them to the ground, including the green one’s.

AAARRRGGHH and Blinky watched with trepidation as she approached a stocky blue Changeling.

“I’d like to offer you a chance to live in peace,” she said to him. He snarled through the bars.

“Gunmar rewards his faithful,” he said. “Traitors are – “ Blinky jumped back in shock when Alexandra summoned her sword and ran him through. The air shimmered around her as if heated suddenly. The Changeling’s fatal wound crackled and glowed, and he imploded with a rush of air and a shock of blood. The jeerings and growls that had echoed in the chamber abruptly silenced.

“There’s really no honor in stupidity,” Alexandra said, banishing her sword. “Those faithful to Gunmar are going to die. Those who change sides, permanently, will live. It’s really not that difficult.”

“There are more of us, you know,” said the green one, eyeing her with more fear than he had before.

“You are a practical lot,” said the Trollhunter. She walked to another cage, slowly and steadily. Blinky hadn’t seen her like this before, but he noticed how the Changelings were tensing. She wasn’t raising her voice, or moving quickly at all, which somehow made it all worse.

“Surely one of you knows the value of self-preservation over twisted loyalty.” The purple Changeling that she spoke to tried to lash at her through the cage. Alexandra grabbed her arms and the Changeling screamed; Blinky watched in horror as her skin blistered under the Trollhunter’s glowing gauntlets.

Alexandra released the screaming woman and crouched by her stricken form.

“Defect,” she said calmly. The Changeling looked at her with stricken eyes, but as the others called out curses and proclamations of loyalty she snarled and shook her head.

It did not remain attached to her body.

Blinky was immensely regretting his insistence on accompanying Alexandra, or at least his bringing of AAARRRGGHH. The huge troll had turned away minutes ago, hiding his eyes from the gruesome, quiet slaughter. Blinky rubbed his arms as comfortingly as he could and huddled against his friend’s side, readying himself to close his eyes. He’d seen Alexandra scream and rage, charge at Draal and Bular alike with passion and determination, but never had he seen her quietly walk over and kill someone, no more bothered than if she were browsing at a lunch stall. It promptly reminded him of exactly how little he knew of her past, and of her true nature.

“I really only need one of you to talk,” Alexandra continued, this time not banishing her sword.

“Please stop,” hissed the green one, to Blinky’s surprise. “Just stop, we can talk.”

Alexandra walked back to his cage, and put her hands behind her back, where the odd glow of them slowly dimmed. Blinky saw her fists shiver in pain.

“That’s all I wanted,” she said.

They conversed quietly for quite a time, while the Changelings around them watched in silence, the drip dripping of blood pattering in puddles on the floor.

AAARRRGGHH was still shivering under Bliky’s hands. While violence and bloodshed were almost every day features in troll society, it was usually something celebrated, whether in spars, challenges, or battle. But this…the Changelings would probably have been put to death anyway, but it wouldn’t have been like this, quietly and calmly and stinking of manipulation and indifference.

They eventually seemed to come to some sort of agreement, and the green Changeling dug into his capelet of knives and handed her something yellow and glowing: a horngazel.

Blinky stiffened as Alexandra walked toward him, but she passed him and knocked on the door, drawing the guards.

“Release the Changelings,” she told them, “and escort them out of Trollmarket.”

AAARRRGGHH jerked violently and Blinky stumbled, both of them staring at Alexandra in shock.

“What? Master Alexandra, you can’t just – “ “They’re not to be harmed or assaulted on their way out,” she continued, ignoring Blinky’s spluttering. The guards did as she said, and began unlocking the Changeling’s prisons. The green one emerged from his cage with something like triumph.

“You’re letting them leave?!” “Not for free,” muttered the green Changeling. Alexandra shoved him roughly.

“Cooperation is a small price to pay for your life, jackass,” she replied. “Alright, you idiots. Get out of my Heartstone.”

The guards surrounded the motley group and began marching them out of the chamber. Blinky heard gasps and yelps of surprise from the trolls outside as they emerged. He and AAARRRGGHH ran to Alexandra’s side as she brought up the rear.

“Master Alexandra, this needs to be a community decision! You at least need to consult with Vendel – “ “I already talked to Vendel,” the Trollhunter said. Blinky noticed that she was rubbing her bandaged arms. “He left the decision up to me.” “But letting them go? This is madness!” “This is politics,” Alexandra murmured.

“I hardly believe that I have to explain such folly to you! Surely they will betray whatever agreement you have come to and just attack once more. What did you even say to him? What did you bargain?”

“It really wasn’t that difficult. They gave up the anstramonstrum’s home crystal and the horngazel their goblin had stolen, in exchange for their lives.” “You are letting them leave, whatever they have given you! Sparing their lives will only ensure that they are at liberty to attack us again!” “The fucking carnivorous mist and their key to Trollmarket were the main concerns here, Blinky!”

Alexandra stopped and turned to him, her eyes wide with desperation and righteous anger.

“Their numbers were severely decimated today and they’ve seen that Trollmarket is not an easy target. Their goals were not achieved and their attack failed. Should they attack again, then we’ll deal with that when it comes. And we will set up defenses and further security later, but right now, I’d like to stop them from getting in again and get rid of that murderous column of smoke before it breaks out and kills someone else!”

Blinky shook two fingers in her snarling face.

“You asked for his cooperation!” “And I got it, for as long it takes for them to get out of Trollmarket quietly. And I’ve given them all something to really think about. Neither Bular nor Gunmar would ever have been this merciful.”

“Master Alexandra, you cannot possibly expect that they will honor their agreement and become your spies, your allies!” “Of course I don’t,” she hissed back at him. “I’m not stupid enough to believe that they’d change sides just because they promised to! I asked them for their stolen horngazel and the anstramonstrum’s home crystal, solid things, not promises!”

Blinky and Alexandra stared at each other in consternation for several heated moments, before one of AAARRRGGHH’s immense hands swam in front of their faces.

“Fight later,” he said quietly. “Changelings leaving.” With a sigh, Alexandra turned away and starting following after the guards.

“I have to escort them,” she murmured. Blinky watched her for a few seconds, and then he and AAARRRGGHH followed.

The trolls of the market were not happy to see their attackers leaving alive, but the guards’ and Alexandra’s presence kept them from throwing anything more damaging than a shoe or two. They were taken up the crystal staircase and Alexandra had the guards search them before they were allowed to leave. Nothing came up, except one Changeling who had pocketed several trinkets of Trollhunter fan memorabilia.

The portal to the canal closed just as the green Changeling looked back at them. His eye caught the Hunter’s. Neither of them nodded, but neither snarled as well.

The blue glow faded from the walls and Alexandra dismissed the guards. Alone, with nothing to do and nobody to help, she looked discouragingly worn, with bandages over her abdomen, hands, arms, and her hair and body covered in bits of gore and wood and stone dust. The Trollhunter wavered for a moment, and then began down the crystal stairs.

“I need to go check on Draal,” she said quietly. Her feet stumbled on a crystal, and AAARRRGGHH caught her. Her arms were shaking too badly for her to lower herself down the higher jumps.

Although he didn’t feel satisfied with their discussion, Blinky welcomed the lighter turn of conversation.

“Did you hear that about his name?” he asked. “They are considering changing it from Draal the Deadly.” “I thought it was ‘Destroyer’?” AAARRRGGHH waved a hand dismissively.

“Either.” “Indeed, but both I suppose shall become obsolete. Although, I’m not quite sure how he will feel about the lack of menace this new title will bestow.”

Alexandra allowed AAARRRGGHH to help her down a steeper stair, and smiled to herself.

“I don’t know; I kind of like the sound of ‘Draal the Dedicated’.”

A/N: The whole ‘Daylight is mine to command’ bit is about the Daylight Sword, but I wanted to play with the idea of it referring to actual daylight, because how fucking cool would that be? Also, dangerous. You can’t have a cool uber-power move and do it perfectly the first time without some consequences.

I’m trying not to make her too Mary-Sue-ish, but I really do want to explore the possibilities of her armor and how she can use it. There’s so much potential that was both explored and not explored in the show. Most of the reason that she’s able to do cool shit, like summoning only her sword or parts of the armor, is because she came in with no expectations or knowledge. She’s able to do stuff because she never knew that those things were things that weren’t previously done, or were things that shouldn’t be possible. In comparison to other Trollhunters Alexandra is actually very open-minded and willing to learn past the boundaries of her expectations. Kanjigar, for example, was significantly more closed-minded and single-tracked than Jim, which is why I think that Jim was able to explore the possibilities of his armor and Kanjigar was not (or else Kanjigar probably would have been using the daylight-immunity stone). Jim and Alexandra both come into Trollhunting as open books.

Whatever Troll strikes again! I couldn’t just leave him to have one solitary scene. And here’s Strickler too. Don’t worry, he’ll show up again, although I don’t think that he’ll like it much.

I’ve actually only seen one thing that said that Deya was the first Trollhunter, and it was in supplementary material, not the show. Her not being the first actually makes more sense to the show’s timelines, but since it fits with this story the best, I’m going to go along with my initial (but most likely incorrect) assumption that Deya was the first Trollhunter.

And Draal is a hero again, but with all limbs attached. I needed something to get him redeemed in Trollmarket again, so why not bring in Strickler and his pet carnivorous mist. That thing is going to give me headaches until I figure out how to get rid of it.

I was going to include Blinky causing havoc with some dwárkstones but it didn’t fit the story yet. Worry not, he’ll get to them later.

The “This is madness!”, “This is politics.” Exchange is from Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Also found on ffn and AO3

#trollhunters #drabble #what falls and what grows #blinky #aaarrrgghh #draal #vendel #strikler

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