As a young troll the Signless was sheltered. Hidden from a dark world where one would be tested as an infant for survival, but he was protected by his beautiful jade guardian, the Dolorosa. With the gentle turn of her hand she would stroke the boys' dark hair and tell him wondrous stories, stories of a world where everyone was equal and life was truly beautiful; where he didn't have to stay locked away from the world in case his blood color was discovered. But he knew this is not how the world really was. A smart woman, the Dolorosa educated him on the dangers; little by little he learned more. Although the Signless didn't understand why exactly it was other people didn't accept his blood, he knew he had to keep it hidden. He understood a lot, but he disagreed with it as well.

"I don't understand why they don't like my blood color!" The Signless began to shout one day after asking to go out alone. He is still small, roughly three sweeps old.

"My darling, other trolls don't recognize something special when they see it." She crooned softly, gently petting his hair. "Maybe you can change that someday."

The Signless promptly put on his best pouting face to counter her, but she only smiled and kissed his forehead. "I'll tell you what." She began. "I'll let you go out on your own-" The Signless gasped and looked up at her with wide eyes, a smile ear to ear.

"Really?"

"As long as you stay close to home and collect some firewood while I'm out." The Dolorosa finished with a smile.

"Yes!" The Signless ran to the far side of their cave, the place the Dolorosa made into a home when she found him as a grub knowing she could not return with him, and grabbed his hooded cape like robe. He ran back to her and she lifted the hood over his head. Placing her hands on his shoulders she added one last thing.

"Come straight home is anything goes wrong."

"Yes mama."

"Stay safe, my child." She said lastly before giving him a gentle push toward the exit of the cave. The Signless grinned back at her before taking off into the underbrush.

The Signless took his time. He would collect firewood on his return, but for now he just wanted to taste the freedom. He ran around trees and climbed over rocks. He lay in the grass and stared at the clouds. He also carefully kept track of where he was going in case he needed to make a fast retreat.

The dense Alternian woods were truly a wonder. Trees of all colors sprang up from the ground, streams ran across the land (and the Signless really enjoyed crossing these), and fluffy clouds floated across the skies. The green and pink moons were peaking over the tips of the trees and for the first time he could really enjoy their sight. To get a better look, the troll boy began to scale the tree.

The top was absolutely beautiful. You could see the forest expand in every direction, the mountains in the distance, and the moons. Oh, the moons from this view were quite possible the greatest thing the Signless had ever lay his grey eyes on. They were magnificent. He became entranced in them, so much that he did not hear the other troll.

She was small and nimble in olive tinted rags. Long wild tangled hair was ratted down her back as she gazed up to the troll who must have been around her age. She smiled; she hadn't seen any troll her age for the longest time. She hadn't seen any trolls any age for the longest time, really. So she stealthily climbed the tree. When she was just a branch or two below him she decided to greet him. "Hello?" She spoke with the trace of a purr behind it. The way the boy jumped at her appearance was so violent it made the girl jump as well. The boy fell from the tree and the girl watched helplessly, if slightly amused. She climbed down as fast as she could to find him lying on the ground, okay but a scrape here or there.

"Are you okay?" She asked, holding out a hand for him to take. She gave a slight smile but he looked up at her with the most terrified expression she had ever seen. His mouth opened like he wanted to scream but no noise came out. "I'm not going to hurt you…"

He considered her. The only troll he had ever seen other than his mom. She was, well, grubby. Although he and the Dolorosa lived in a cave, she made sure that he was always scrubbed clean. But this girl was dirty down to the last hair. Dirt covered her nails, was smudged across her face, tangled in her hair. Her wild knotted hair. But she had that kind smile and those wide friendly eyes. Perhaps he could trust her, at least long enough to evaluate her. It would be nice to have a friend.

So he took her hand, afraid for her reaction when she realized that the blood smudged on her hand was brighter than rust. The girl pulled him to his feet, giggling a bit.

"Sorry for scarring you." She said, her voice rather high pitched and girlish. She was a few inches taller than him. The Signless could see her eyes narrow a bit when she noticed this difference. "Your blood, it's so much brighter than-"

He broke her hold on his wrist and bolted the direction of his cave.

"Wait!" She called after him, running. He was panting very hard and the fall made his muscles sore, so he didn't get far. Soon he was keeled over in the underbrush gasping for air. The sound of footfalls behind him alerted the Signless of the girl trolls presence.

"Why did you run away?" She panted.

"Because I'm different…" He gasped out between short breaths.

"There's nothing wrong with being different." The girl said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling, and the Signless could have sworn that he saw the same genuine kindness in her face that he saw in his moms. So he smiled back.

Alright! First chapter down! Let's see where this takes us, eh? I know I'm not that great of a writer but I think I'll have fun with this one. Cheetah Girl out!