I am no man - Trollhunters Claire AU

Chapter 1

Claire Nuñez awoke to the discomfort of an earbud remaining in her ear from the previous night, and a slight headache. She groaned and lifted her arms up into the air instinctively, for no apparent reason.
Swiftly, she hauled herself into a sitting position and ignored the wave of exhaustion that overcame her. Claire prided herself on being strong and unstoppable, and tiredness was certainly not going to be the thing that beat her.

Her house was eerily silent for a moment before she glanced at her clock and realised what day it was, and how late she was. She groaned again and the house was suddenly filled with movement as she leaped into her daily outfit, fixed her hair and ran downstairs to grab a muffin for breakfast.
You see, normally on a Monday morning Claire would be waking up at 7am to a household buzzing with life. She would go downstairs in her pyjamas and greet her parents and baby brother, whilst enjoying a hearty breakfast before receiving a ride to school from one of her parents.
However, on that specific Monday morning, her parents were out at a meeting, and they had taken her brother along with them. So, instead of the usual, Claire was rushing around at 7am so that she could take the long walk to school and arrive on time to catch up with her girlfriends before lessons began.

She swiftly swung her bag over her shoulder and slammed the door behind her, racing down the street like an antelope (although perhaps not as graceful).

-

It seemed that the morning was full of surprises for Claire, since she unexpectedly found herself wandering down a pathway towards the Arcadia Canal.
The journey had not taken her as long as expected - perhaps because she had speed-walked for most of the way - so she still had 40 minutes before she needed to be in school. Therefore, her heart, mind and entire soul seemed to have decided to force her to take the alternative route down the canal.

The pathway was slightly muddy and overgrown with brambles and bushes, yet she trampled on, almost enjoying the quaint sounds of nature surrounding her. Arcadia was not a nature-filled town, so it wasn't often that she had the opportunity to immerse herself in any kind of greenery. Perhaps it would be good for her. Perhaps that was why her being seemed to be pulling her on forward, begging her to move quicker.

Yet she still couldn't put her finger on just what emotion she was feeling, on just what her mind was thinking at that moment. She was being lulled forwards as if by some kind of invisible force, and she couldn't prevent it.

Eventually however, she reached the canal - a dry reservoir beneath a car-heavy bridge.

"Claire."

She jumped in shock.

"Claire."

She was definitely not imagining that. Something was calling her name. She shivered and turned slightly to her left, noticing a large pile of broken stone sat uncharacteristically on the floor.

Her feet moved of their own accord, one after the other towards the ominous pile.

A pile of stone can't talk to you Claire, get it together.

She wondered if waking up early really was the right choice, maybe she just needed more sleep.

"Claire."

She jumped yet again.

At the corner of her eye, she noticed a blue glint of light. She only noticed it for a second, but it was enough to get her to turn her head yet again to the pile of stone.

She found herself lifting a few singular slabs from the pile, uncovering something blue and bright.

A medallion? A coin? No.

An amulet.

-

Claire Nuñez prided herself on not only being strong and unstoppable, but being levelheaded and thoughtful.

That is why it was uncharacteristic for her to take the mysterious silver amulet which she had found underneath a bridge in a pile of rocks, of which she thought had talked to her, and place it in her bag.

-

Meanwhile, deep underground, six eyes blinked and a voice whispered.

"The amulet chose, a human?"