Jim knew that he should be studying for his upcoming Algebra and Spanish exams. The textbooks lay, unopened, on his desk. He glanced at the piles of schoolwork he had yet to complete, and, for a brief moment, imagined himself sitting down at the desk. Opening the books. Studying.
Hm.
Nope. Not happening.
He slouched further against the headboard of his bed, trying to ignore the guilt that was creeping around in his thoughts. It's not like those tests would actually raise his grades, right? Right?
His mind drifted off, thinking about all the things he's been juggling for the past year. School. Protecting all troll-kind. Defeating Bular. The play. The Spring Fling dance. Angor Rot. Strickler. And so on and so forth.
He remembers coming home from a brutal training session with Draal at the Hero's Forge. His mother was working late and, torn between collapsing in bed and collapsing on the couch, he decided to choose the latter. There wasn't much on, most of the shows were either paid programming or late night sitcoms.
After flipping through dozens of channels he gave up, settling for some cheesy feel-good talk show that he was fairly certain was about religion. He had forgotten most all of what the Pastor, Priest, Preacher, whatever, had said.
But there was one thing the bearded guy said that stuck in his memory, much like some ridiculous joke from the internet. It was some advice-the kind that you wish was bullshit but probably wasn't completely bullshit-about how it was impossible to balance one's work and personal life. That sooner or later something would have to give, would have to be sacrificed.
So, instead, one should try to incorporate both their work and personal life. To combine the two, or however many responsibilities one has.
Jim didn't think it made any sense then and it sure as hell didn't make sense now. But those words were still rattling around in his head.
In a perfect world would it even be possible to manage his responsibility of being the Trollhunter, of being a student, of being a son, all at the same time?
Probably not.
That didn't stop him, sliding down the headboard to lean against his pillows, from imagining how it would feel if he succeeded. How would it feel?
Anyway.
His attention was drawn to the amulet he held in his hand, his eyes peering down at the intricate details and the inscription and everything. Even after all this time he still had trouble comprehending the magic of it. How it was able to conjure magic armor, a sword made out of daylight, and so much more?
Did it bond to him on a biological level? Jim frowned. Did it create a magical connection between him and it? Draal had claimed that, as the son of the previous Trollhunter, Kanjigar the Courageous, he was supposed to be the one to inherit the amulet.
So why did it choose him? A human?
He never really mentioned all of his doubts to Blinky or Vendel, fearing that any sort of closer look into why he was chosen as the Trollhunter would reveal that the amulet had, indeed, made a mistake.
"What are you?" He said, bringing the amulet to eye-level. He stared at it, hoping that it would respond to his question. When he received no answer he sighed and lowered it.
Great, now he was talking to an inanimate object. Again.
The amulet, as if it was responding to his emotions, glowed. A few seconds later it dimmed. It kept up a slow pattern of glowing and dimming. Jim, to his surprise, found that whenever the amulet glowed, it let out a kind of warmth. Warmth that felt like the hugs he got from his mother, like the times spent with his friends.
Jim exhaled, his gaze fixated on the amulet and the glow it cast. It was like the amulet was comforting him. The essence of it wrapped around him, the weight not a burden but a relief. He could imagine the amulet reaching out glowing blue tendrils, lifting the figurative weight on his shoulders. He felt refreshed.
"Woah." He said, grinning. The amulet did respond to him, maybe not verbally, but mentally. Magically? Whatever. The point was, it did.
So the amulet was a kind of weird, sort-of sentient magical glowing device?
Nice.
Jim's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the front door open. He looked at the clock on his desk, cringing at the time. 12:47
He put the amulet down, his hand resting on the cool surface. He felt reluctant to break contact with it but he did so anyway, disappointed at how quickly the warmth faded. It didn't fade completely, the remaining warmth was like an echo that resonated around him. God, that sounded lame.
Jim got up and made his way to his bedroom door, throwing one last look at the amulet over his shoulder, he hurried downstairs. He stopped at the bottom step and, seeing his mother frown, walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder.
His mother, probably prepared to give him a lecture, paused. She smiled softly and leaned down to hug him.
"There's something I need to show you." He stepped back and motioned for her to wait. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. "I'll-I'll be right back."
Jim ran upstairs and into his room. He grabbed the amulet, taking a moment to smile down at it.
FIN