If there was one thing John hated about Alternia, it was the roads.
It didn't matter how often he traveled the streets, he always managed to get lost or end up in a place he really didn't mean to end up in. He supposed it was because of how different the kingdom was compared to his own home; humans had different ways of traveling, and much simpler roads than Alternians did. The trolls had a much different culture than John was used to, and certainly different creatures. The commonality of imps on the outskirts of town unnerved him; he was used to harmless creatures like salamanders. He'd grown wary of wandering the kingdom during the time the sun came out, due to the amount of attacks on villagers.
That was another thing John didn't like. Alternians were practically nocturnal, and John had always been a morning person. It had taken him a long time to adjust to the times typically assigned by the trolls, and even then, they rose when it was dark enough for them to traverse-around sunset, he was relieved to find. Not the middle of the night. John did stay up late and sleep during a portion of the day, but he was as active as the other humans in the kingdom were. There were two times of the day, early and late, where humans and trolls would mingle in the streets. He was relieved he didn't have to resort to becoming a complete nocturnal.
John pursed his lips, eyes narrowing at the wall before him. If he hadn't noticed the brightness of the tarp, he probably would have run straight into the wall it was plastered on. He'd always had weak eyesight. He sighed before turning around for the umpteenth time today (evening). He had noticed a blacksmith shop a few days before-at least, he thought it was a blacksmith shop. He could just barely read Alternian; just pick out certain letters and words he'd picked up around the kingdom. He was thankful English was a requirement in Alternia, or he was sure to have been murdered his first day here.
He just couldn't find the blacksmith's. That was the only reason he was here, for Pete's sake! The only reason John had bothered traveling all the way to this kingdom was for the smithing shop. He'd heard the rumors, even from his own town. A blacksmith from Alternia was the most gifted of all smithing, even enough for humans to set aside their hubris for a sword molded by an Alternian. There had even been cases where men and troll alike had murdered each other as well as their own men for the blade smithed by an Alternian. So who better for John to apprentice under but an Alternian himself?
John wasn't much of a blacksmith-by human standards, he certainly had a gift, but nowhere near the talent of an Alternian. While any troll in Skaia could have mentored him, he'd come to Alternia just for a chance to prove his worth and bring pride to his family's name. He didn't have much of a chance, he knew, but a slim shot was better than none. He didn't plan on returning home entirely empty handed. If he couldn't snag an apprenticeship, he could at least try to pick up a few pointers.
And, so, John ended up here, in a land of a race so different from his own, chasing after something he was very much aware he couldn't obtain. It wasn't that humans were entirely unheard of in Alternia; since the new empress came into power, humans and trolls had mingled on far better standards than they had just after the wars. Before, a troll and a human would have gone for each other's jugular, but, now, they were on far better ground. Not enough to be called friends, or even partners, but at least they were no longer enemies.
He'd had an audience with the empress once he'd arrived in Alternia; all humans did, he supposed. He didn't blame the queen for requesting to speak with him to understand his want for residing in her kingdom when humans were still a was very pretty, he'd noticed, and very kind. She seemed more curious than wary of his intentions, and had brightened once he'd explained his predicament. She was cheerful, and speaking with Her Majesty put him in a good mood once he'd left.
He had to admit, though, she looked much different than any other troll he'd seen. Pretty, certainly, but much more exotic, with the most intriguing jewelry he'd ever seen crafted. Her gown was much finer than any human queen's he'd seen. He supposed it was traditional Alternian culture to dress so elegantly. She's even had gems adorning her gills and pearls plaited into her hair.
John let out a small huff, puffing his cheeks out in annoyance. Another dead end. He'd thought for sure the blacksmith was stationed here... It seemed he was wrong. He sighed and turned once again. It seemed he'd have to keep wandering the confusing streets of the kingdom until he found it, or ask for directions. He wouldn't resort to that until he found a very nice looking troll. He'd heard trolls were a more violent race than humans, and he didn't want any trouble. He definitely didn't plan on getting hurt. John had always bruised easily. He pursed his lips in thought before glancing up. He didn't exactly want to ask anyone for help, seeing as trolls still weren't particularly fond of humans...
Well, he was sure he'd find his way to the shop after a while. After all, Alternia wasn't that big, right?
-
Wrong.
John was very, very wrong.
Alternia was that big.
John had started his journey to the blacksmith's when the sun was just barely setting, sometime around four or five; he couldn't exactly read Alternian clocks yet. That was early for troll standards, he was sure, but it didn't bother him too much. He was used to waking up early.
He was not, however, used to wandering half-blind through a kingdom he didn't know of for a shop he began looking for six hours ago. While it wasn't late for trolls, it was almost the latest John had stayed out. This was around the time humans retreated to their houses and trolls emerged from them. He probably would have had a better chance searching in the daylight; there were less humans than trolls in the village, and it would have been easier to speak to them. Looking on it now, he regretted the decision of coming out late.
He chewed his bottom lip in thought. Trolls had begun to take notice of him; most humans weren't out this late. He'd bumped into more than a few of them due to the darkness, and they'd given him scalding looks once he'd stumbled over an apology. He had taken to walking under the torches lining the buildings, where he could see where he was going. It didn't help much, but it was better than nothing.
He could hardly make out the signs on the shops. For all he knew, he could have passed the blacksmith's long ago. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. His feet were sore; he should have stopped searching hours ago. He was getting tired. He wondered if he should head back to the inn. He could always start searching tomorrow.
He paused in his steps, stifling a yawn. He supposed returning to the inn wouldn't be too terrible. The owner was a woman who was very kind, and sold paintings on the side to whoever wanted them. The fact that she had good cooking made going back even more appealing, seeing as he hadn't eaten since he woke up this morning. He'd look for the shop in the morning, he reasoned as he turned to head back to the Inn.
"Get out of the way!"
John let out a yelp as something collided with him, sending him roughly to the ground. "Ow!" He flinched as he landed on his backside, something sharp digging into his shoulder and no doubt bruising him. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow-"
"Move it!" It took him a moment to realize that it was a person on top of him, pushing and shoving and elbowing him to the ground and crawling on top of him.
"Stop it!" He brought his hands up to stop them from digging their fingers into his sides-a girl, definitely, from her voice. He shifted under her, trying to squirm out from under her. "S-stop-get off!"
"Oh, my God, move!" She scrambled over him, all elbows and knees and nails. She was bony and strong; her grip on him was like steel, and was no doubt bruising him in the process as she kneed him in the stomach while scurrying over him.
"Hey, you're the one who-ow, stop it!" John was jerked back abruptly from his bag, the straps digging into his shoulder and yanking him along the ground as the girl-troll, he realized-got to her feet.
"Get out of the way!" She hissed, yanking his bag from her belt. She must have had something on it that got caught in his bag; the strap was twisted around it and pulling him along with her.
"Ow, fuck, stop-!" John pulled at his bag, trying to tug it away from his shoulder. It was inching dangerously close to his neck.
"Hurry up, come on!" The troll shrieked, yanking him to his feet and dragging him over a cluster of stones that poked into his back. He stumbled more than once, falling over and even bringing the unknown girl down with him. "Get to your feet and move-"
"Hey, stop!"
The troll let out something close to a scream and dug her nails into John's wrist, yanking him to stand and pulling him behind a group of stands.
"Sto-are those palace guards?!" John's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of the unmistakable violet robes of palace guards, the empress's insignia branded into the swords they drew. "Why are there-stop-what are you doing?!"
"Shut up and move!" The troll shouted back to him, pulling his wrist roughly for emphasis. She let out a stream of Alternian (which John assumed were curses) as she stumbled, his bag pulling him by his throat when her belt bumped into something.
John let out a strangled cry and hurried clumsily to keep up with her, wincing as her nails dug into the sensitive flesh of his wrist. She didn't seem to notice; didn't she know humans were far more weaker than trolls? "Stop-"
"Shut up!" She yanked on his wrist as she turned a corner behind an Alternian meat and fruit stand, throwing him to the ground and clambering on top of him. John squeaked as her hand clamped down on his mouth, her knees pressing painfully into his hips as she jabbed a finger at his chest. "Not one word," she warned, knees digging into his hipbones sharply.
He held his breath as she turned her attention to the cracks between the stands. John caught a scuffle of steel toed boots-palace guard footwear-clatter by, followed by shouts in Alternian. The troll's hand tightened over his mouth, and he let out a muffled squeal as her knees pressed against him. She sent him a sharp look and he flinched.
She shifted her weight to one knee and he yelped, throwing his hands up to shove her off. Well, as much as he could. He didn't send her off of him entirely, but she slipped and her knees hit the ground, causing her to fall on top of him. She let out something that couldn't be described as anything but a growl, and he shimmied out from under her to scramble away.
Doing so went much more smoothly in his head. His bag was still caught on something on her belt, and it tugged her forward, clambering on her hands and knees as she regained her balance. He squeaked and skittered back, pulling her along with him.
"Stop," She hissed, yanking on the strap of his bag and jerking him forward. "You're making it worse."
John reached for the strap of his bag and tugged it off, skittering away from her for good measure. "W-why were you running from palace guards?" He gasped, moving back.
The troll glanced up at him warily before she smirked. "Why does it matter?"
"Well, I mean, you just...ran into me and dragged me away. What, are you some kind of criminal?" He glanced up at her anxiously.
"Something like that," she answered, grinning widely. Her teeth were sharp and pointed and John wondered how she didn't cut her mouth up all the time.
"You're a criminal?" His voice pitched into a squeak. Sure, she had that...rebellious look about her, but she didn't seem like a criminal. "What did you do? Did you kill someone?" At the mention of that, he edged farther away from her, glancing at the crack between the stands. If it came to it, he would be able to get away in time.
He hoped.
"Kill someone?" She laughed loudly, and he flinched. "Oh, yes, I definitely killed someone. I kill everyone I meet. In fact, I'm planning your murder as we speak." John tittered nervously, shifting farther away from her. Her joke may have been endearing to her, but it just set him on edge.
"Uh, yeah."
"Relax," she said, rolling her eyes. She clicked her tongue and worked on the knot his bag had made on her belt. "It was a joke, stupid."
"No, I, uh...I got that."
"I didn't kill anyone," she explained. It didn't really assure him. "I just pissed them off."
"Palace guards attacked you for pissing them off?" He asked, looking at her in surprise. She snorted.
"Duh."
"They just chase after whoever irritates them?" He frowned. That didn't seem very dignified, even for trolls.
"Exactly. But it's fun," she added, smiling once more. She dug her nails into the leather strap of his bag.
"Having guards try to arrest you is fun?" He asked, lips quirking in amusement before he quickly set it back into a straight line. That wasn't funny. They could have killed the both of them.
"Absolutely," she said, glancing up to flash John another toothy grin. "Gives you a rush, you know?" She laughed.
"I don't typically egg on palace guards, so not really," John answered, mouth turning into a small smile against his will. She didn't seem so bad. Maybe a little panicked at first, but no one would want to be arrested. Hurting him was kind of justifiable, given the circumstance. "I'm John," he said, extending his hand to her. "Egbert," he added.
She didn't seem so bad. Reckless, sure, but not bad. She was interesting, to say the least. No one had really spoken to him since he'd arrived in Skaia. Having a friend like her seemed to be fun. And result in having someone not want to kill him. He hoped she didn't, at least.
The troll glanced up at him briefly, yanking the knot from the strap of his bag. She freed it from her belt, and he glanced down at it. Rather than grabbing his hand in return for the greeting, she handed his bag back to him. He thanked her and tugged it back on, settling it back on his waist. It took him a moment to realize that his bag hadn't caught on her belt, but rather the hilt of a knife.
"Nice to meet you, John Egbert," she said, grinning widely. "I'm Vriska. Serket." She reached her hand out to shake his. Her skin was rough and clearly more thick than any human's.
John really didn't have any idea of what kind of friendship he was getting himself into at the time. Looking back on it now, he probably shouldn't have taken her hand.
But he didn't know any better at the time.