Alone on Alternia

Chapter 3 - A Young Troll

-several sweeps later-
Porrim held Kankri close to her as they walked through the crowded marketplace. Every now and then she would tug his cowl up a little bit to make sure that it wasn't slipping down, and check that everything they had was still in their possession. They went from stall to stall, bartering as best they could without drawing attention to themselves, something Porrim had become quite good at over time.

They had been walking in the marketplace for a while when there was a tug on the back of Porrim's cloak. "Kankri, did you need something?" she knelt down and asked the young troll.

He shook his head. "No, that wasn't me. It was another troll, she disappeared into that alleyway." Porrim felt her heart stop cold. She stood up and briskly walked over the the alley that Kankri had pointed out, keeping him close by her side as she wove through traffic.

She walked cautiously into the alleyway, her eyes adjusting to the dark quickly. She scanned the alleyway until she spotted a small figure crouching on a mat underneath a box, looking at her with wide eyes. she placed Kankri out of sight from both the road and the troll. "Stay here." she whispered.

Having put her young charge safely out of the way, she turned to the figure crouching in the shadows and approached cautiously. After a few steps, the girl hissed. Porrim stopped, holding her hands out placatingly in front of her. "I'm not here to hurt you, I just want to help." after a moment of no response from the child she walked slowly a little closer. The girl scooted back farther into the corner. Porrim stopped and crouched slowly down, still holding her hands out in a flaming gesture. They stayed there for a moment, locked in a staring match. "Hello, I am called Porrim. What is your name?" she asked the young troll.

The troll girl seemed to be thinking. After a moment, she decided that telling the stranger her name wasn't going to hurt. "Meulin. And I'm not afraid of you!" she shouted, crossing her arms bravely, even though she was quivering like a leaf.

Porrim smiled welcomingly. "Hello Meulin, it is a pleasure to meet you." she held out her hand to shake. Merlin was hesitant and gingerly shook Porrim's hand. "Where is your lusus Meulin?" she asked.

Meulin looked away, but Porrim could see the tears stinging her eyes. "My lusus is dead. That's why I'm here." she said.

Porrim frowned. "That is awful, I am truly sorry."

Meulin clenched her fists. "Yeah, well sorry isn't going to get me a new lusus." she retorted.

Porrim thought for a moment. "No," she said slowly. "but I may have a solution." Merlin eyed her critically. "I could be your lusus, you could travel with me." Porrim's heart pounded, unsure of whether or not this was the best choice. "I've already got another troll about your age in my protection." she motioned to Kankri to come towards them. Meulin jumped in surprise as he emerged from behind a stack of boxes. "Meulin, this is Kankri. I've raised him since he was a grub."

Kankri strode confidently forwards and offered a hand to the troll still crouched in the corner. "It is a pleasure to meet you Meulin, my name is Kankri."

Meulin blushed as she shook his hand, her cheeks being colored a ruddy olive green. She thought it over for a moment before responding. "I-I suppose I will travel with mew. But not beclaws you asked! Only beclaws I have nothing better to do. If mew turn out to be creepy, I'm ditching mew right away!" she crossed her arms and huffed.

Porrim smiled. "But of course. Now, let's finish shopping together. Now that we've got three mouths to feed we're going to need extra food! And I want to get you some fabric for new cloths Meulin, so you'll have to pick out something you like, okay?" she asked.

Meulin tried and failed to hide her excited smile. "Really? Thank mew so much!" she jumped up and bounced slightly on the balls of her feet. The ratty rags she was in fell limply around her.