Typically, my Disciple records all my stories. But today, I would like to put a new memory into history. This is my favorite memory. This is when I met my most loyal and loving follower, my Disciple.
As a child, I understood early on that I couldn't leave my home. It was too dangerous, but I had long since accepted that. Yet, every once in a while, I would slip out and roam the forest where Mother Dolorosa and I had lived. She would always worry, but I rarely saw any other troll and only once did I speak to someone besides Mother Dolorosa.
It was early morning when I left. I think I was about four sweeps old. Mother Dolorosa was still asleep, so it was simple to quietly leave. When I was sure that nobody could hear, I made as much noise as I could, just because I could. Freedom was so sweet. I rarely got to make any noise and any chance to run and jump and yell to my heart's content was a blessing.
So, naturally, I wasn't exactly looking where I was going. And I ended up in a net. In a tree.
I heard a shriek of joy. "Leona! I caught something!" a voice shouted. It sounded like a young girl. But nothing had prepared me for what approached.
"Wow," I whispered to myself. She was… beautiful. The most radiant creature that could ever exist. I didn't have much to rate her on, but she made Mother Dolorosa look plain. She was dressed in the furs of animals and her hair was long and tangled. She had a wild, fierce type of beauty, one that scared you, yet also drew you towards her.
"Aw," she said, pouting. "You're a troll. I can't eat you."
"N-no," I said back. "Uh, you don't usually, right?"
She giggled. "No, of course not. I'm Meulin. Who're you?"
"Kankri," I replied. "Um, I'm not trying to be rude, but… could you maybe get me down?"
"Oh, yeah," she said rushing forward. "Sorry, I totally forget you were up there!" She climbed up into the tree and within two minutes, I was lying on the ground trying to determine if anything was broken. Nothing was, but it still hurt just about everywhere.
"Oh, sorry!" Meulin shouted. She jumped down. "Don't worry, I've fallen much farther than that before. You'll be fine in a minute. Here, let me help you up."
She grabbed my hand and hefted me up. The second she touched me, I blushed deep cherry red.
"Hey, what's with your face?" she asked. "I didn't know trolls had that kind of red."
"Uh, well, we must have, because I'm here, right?" I replied quickly, laughing to try to disguise my nervousness. "I'm just a rust blood."
"Oh," she said, looking at me oddly. It was then that we both realized that she was still holding my hand. We both blushed deeply, me red, her olive. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge meow-beast jumps out from the bushes and leaps toward Meulin. I was knocked out of the way.
"Meulin, watch out!" I shouted, but she just giggled. She crouched down and began petting the huge animal, cooing and talking to it quietly. Slowly, I realized that it must be her lusus.
She stood up, but continued petting her lusus. "Kankri, this is Leona. She's my lusus. She thought you were going to hurt me, so she tried to protect me."
"Oh, okay," I said. "Um, does she want you to leave?"
"I'm not sure," Meulin replied, alternately looking both at me and Leona. "Do you need to go home?"
"No, not right now."
"Great!" she squealed, grinning from ear to ear. "I can show you lots of stuff. Come on!"
She grabbed me hand, pulling me along behind her. I didn't really care where we were going. Yes, I was completely infatuated with her. All I cared was that she was going to be there too and that she was holding my hand again.
"I want to show you something really cool!"
She was much faster than I was, but I managed to keep up, albeit tripping and almost falling multiple times. After a few minutes, the trees began to thin out as we approached to edge of the forest.
"Now, close your eyes," she commanded. When I didn't, she put her hands over my eyes and pushed me to start walking. We kept walking like that until I could hear running water.
"Okay, ready?" she asked. When I nodded, she uncovered my eyes. We were standing on a cliff, next to which was a huge waterfall. It flowed quickly and sent a spray up to meet us. Meulin sat down on the edge of the cliff and invited me to do the same. She shined in the moonlight reflected off the water.
"You know, I don't get to meet a lot of trolls," she said, staring at the waterfall. "Especially not ones my age. I'm really glad I met you, Kankri." She turned to me and grinned.
I smiled back and replied, "Me neither. You're the first troll I've ever talked to, besides Mother Dolorosa."
"What's a mother? Don't you have a lusus?"
"No," I said. "But she's like a lusus. She takes care of me and raises me."
"Is she okay with you being here?"
"She doesn't know," I replied, squirming and blushing. "She's probably noticed that I'm gone by now. And I'll get scolded when I get home. But… it was worth it to meet you, Meulin. I'm glad I met you, too."
Meulin blushed olive before wrapping me in a tight hug. "That's the nicest thing I've ever heard." I wanted to stay like that forever, but she pulled away. "Your Lu—Mother is probably really worried."
"Um, yeah," I said. "But, this was really fun, and I want to see you again. Sometime."
"Yeah, me too," Meulin told me, smiling again. "Don't worry, maybe you'll end up in a tree again and I'll have to rescue you!"
"Wasn't that trap because of you?" I asked playfully.
She waved that comment away. "Details, fact is, you were in a tree and I had to let you down."
"Okay, I can't argue with that," I replied. Just then, I noticed the moon beginning to set. "Oh, no. I really have to leave. Goodbye, Meulin." I started to run, but paused to hug her again.
"I'm going to find you again, Kankri!" she called. "Even if you don't want me to!" I could hear her laugh even from far away.
When I eventually made it home, Mother Dolorosa was furious. She scolded me for upwards of an hour, but I didn't mind. I had meant it when I said that any punishment was worth meeting Meulin.
Olive tears fall on the paper. A troll kneels alone in a cave covered in hues of blood. She has lost her true love. And nothing can ever fill the hole in her heart.
Newly edited. I found a ton of stuff that needed to be fixed. ~AG