Cold (Trollhunters Fanfic)

I Cheated Death, now They Want a Divorce(8)

So the being brave thing didn't work.

By the time the three of us were heading home, I was pretty much in tears. A little piss baby is what I am, and I am 100% ashamed of it. Don't even get me wrong.

Regardless, Jim and Toby had consoled me the entire time. They told me how brave I was and how strong I was for facing my fears. They were so sweet, and I felt horribly pathetic. It's not even much different than how I naturally exist, so I suppose it wasn't shocking or anything.

Which brings us to our current situation.

Mr. Blinky is reciting to the children a book of Troll lore out of one of his numerous history books. The first volume of 47, A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore, by the Venerable Bedehilde. Jaylen, Toby, and Jim are all cuddled up against their big friend Aaarrrgghh. Two are listening, one intently, another with fleeting interest, and the third dead asleep.

Jaylen is leaning against the inside of Aaarrrgghh's arm, her uninjured arm gently wrapped around it. Her eyes are sparkling, and her lips parted gently in awe as she soaks in the knowledge. Ever an admirer of trolls, she's eager to learn all that she can about their kind. As such, Blinky is extremely pleased with this.

Toby, however, is less enthusiastic with the reading. He has to sit in school all day listening to teachers drone on about math, history, and such all the time! And now he has to sit and listen to another lecture. Trolls or not, this is Boring with a capital B.

"For centuries, the troll and human worlds stood separate and at peace, divided by bridges that acted as doorways between our two realms," Blinky reads. "But the Gumm-Gumms wanted to devour all of man-kind. They were led by, Gunmar 'the Black.' The rest of Trollkind fought against him, culminating in the great Battle of Killahead Bridge, the portal to Gunmar's Darklands. After many moons, good triumphed over evil, and our great Trollhunter, Deya 'the Deliverer', locked Gunmar away, exiling him to the Darklands, and sealed the Killahead Bridge with the sacred amulet. After, we tore it apart, stone by stone. We left the old world in search of peace. We stowed away on a ship called the Mayflower, just a handful of us and some gnomes we'd brought along for companionship and nourishment. Finally, we arrived in a strange and exotic realm-"

"New Jersey," Aaarrrgghh rumbles.

"Yes." Blinky nods in affirmation with Aaarrrgghh. "We kept walking," Blinky continues. "Eventually, we came across a new Hearthstone, and we realized we had found a new home under Arcadia." Blinky lowers his book, groaning disparately at Jim's lack of attention. He gets to his feet and slams the book closed in front of Jim's face, successfully waking him from his slumber.

"¡Lo Siento, Señor Draal!" Jim startles from his nap, flailing in a panic. "¡No me mates!"

Toby stifles a laugh, finding Jim's reaction amusing. Jaylen winces sympathetically, feeling his pain. Night terrors are a bitch and a half, and Jim had to be pretty freaked out if he's getting them about Spanish class.

Blinky cocks his hip to the side, placing a hand on it. His expectant look sent shivers down Jaylen's spine. It was the expression of a well-seasoned mother catching you slacking off on your chores. She almost laughed at the similarities but held her tongue.

"The training of troll history may seem like a minor duty, Master Jim, but-" Blinky says deftly.

Jim hurries to interrupt Blinky. "Sorry," he rubs his head sheepishly, "I pulled an all-nighter studying for my Spanish Comprehension exam and my brain is muy gooey." He massaged the sides of his head lightly, wincing as he reached a sore spot.

Jaylen could relate. She had spent a large portion of the night studying too. She was an experienced insomniac however, spending many a night awake browsing her phone or working on projects, a couple of hours less sleep was child's play for her. You didn't have to squint to see the bags under her eyes.