The sound of the bustling town made your fins flutter with excitement as you stepped from the carriage driven by multiple hoofbeasts. You thanked the red blooded driver and chucked a couple extra coins his way before waltzing straight into the everyday life of land dwellers. No matter which way you looked there was always something happening.
Makeshift stalls lined the streets selling things from food to valuable jewelry. Your eyes sparkled at the gold trinkets which held much similarity to yours. You sea dwellers did like to fancy yourselves up after all. Tucking your black hair back you let your fins soak up every sound and piece of music they heard. You sighed, making your way down the street towards the center.
It was a pretty small town to be fair, it only took you a few minutes to get close to the center. Along the way you got many stares, mostly of fear. This town seemed to hold mostly trolls of a lower class and even a couple blue bloods seemed intimidated to see you here. You couldn't blame them of course, you were extremely strong. With your axe in hand and shield in the other you truly were a terrifying sight to behold.
Though in general you thought yourself to be calm and collected. You were saddened that so many trolls were so deathly afraid of you, you didn't agree with how trolls of a lower blood colour were treated so didn't enjoy the company of fellow seadwellers. This mostly ended up in you keeping yourself company which you didn't mind of course, you just sometimes wished you had someone to confide in.
Your thoughts came to a halt when you felt something run into you at full speed. It was rather small so it only made you stumble back a couple steps. Looking down in confusion you saw a rust blood staring straight up at you, they'd fallen over and the contents in their hands had spilled all over the floor. They visibly shook in your presence and you sighed, dusting your clothes off
"I-I apologize ma'am...I wasn't looking where I was going, p-please forgive me" they whispered out, bowing their head down and staying that way, almost waiting for you to hurt them. Trolls along the street had stopped to look at the two of you, too scared to stand up to the sea dwelling troll. Carefully you knelt down to their level and began to pick up the dropped items off the floor. The whole area stared at you in shock, the tiny troll in front of you included. You smiled, handing the items to the troll and giving them a gentle push forwards.
"it was an accident little one, just be a little more careful this time" you murmured. The troll looked up to you like some sort of god and nodded eagerly
"y-yes ma'am! Thank you" they called, quickly making their way through the crowd once more. You straightened your clothes up and continued to walk to the center, ignoring the stares you got along the way.
As you went round the corner to the center square you frowned, why was it so quiet all of a sudden. Your fins twitched slightly, picking out a single voice. You looked up to the middle of the square and gasped. More than a hundred trolls sat on the cobble floor of the square, all surrounding one figure in the center who was speaking loud and clear.
No one spoke over the troll who seemed to set everyone who listened in a trance of some sort. You edged closer slowly, sitting down by a building wall to not attract attention. Once closer you'd instantly recognized the nubby horned troll.
The Signless was pretty well known by now, speaking of a world where trolls of all blood colour were considered equal. You found it fascinating that a troll of such a background as he could speak so boldly towards so many trolls. He was not alone though, no. His matesprit the Disciple and his lusus like figure the Dolorosa sat close to the candy red troll, the cat like troll, frantically writing in her book to keep up with her lover's words. Dolorosa simply listened, a content smile on her face as Signless's words sunk into the minds of every troll willing to listen.
It truly was a sight to behold. Your gaze finally landed on the last member of Signless's group. People called him the Helmsman, his close friends would refer to him as something else but you had no idea what it was. You heard he'd escaped the life of slavery once hearing the teachings of his mutant blooded friend, joining him on his journey throughout Alternia to spread his teachings.
Your gaze stayed on him for a while, taking in his features. His hair was rather messy and he had four horns sticking from the top of his head. His fringe was kept back by a yellow headpiece which was attached to the yellow and black jumpsuit he wore. His eyes were mismatched, one being red and the other blue. You didn't noticed those bi-cloured eyes lock with yours for another few seconds.
You snapped out of your trance and saw he looked more nervous once he'd saw you. You shifted uncomfortably where you were sat and gave him an uneasy smile before continuing to listen to Signless talk. The Helmsman stared at you for a few moments, shocked that you hadn't even notified any blue guards or caused a disruption to his friends speech. You were just propped against the wall, listening intently. He watched as your lips would curve up every so often at Signless's words and you seemed to hold a look of adoration in your eyes. Were you really here to just listen? He turned back to listen to Signless, trying not to think about it
"the way we are treated is unjust! I vow not to rest until every troll on Alternia has heard my voice!" Signless declared, earning a few cheers from the crowd. The Helmsman rolled his eyes, his friend was just so dramatic sometimes. The red troll was about to continue when someone called out frantically from the back of the crowd, pushing trolls out of the way
"Blue bloods are on they're way here! Scatter!" they yelled. Instantly everyone was up, trolls of all different blood types scampered away, some hiding together in their hives and others succumbing to the alleyways. You watched in surprise as Signless and his followers were pulled towards a long winding alley which held no light.
As soon as they disappeared from your line of vision around ten blue bloods entered the area. The captain jumped down from his hoofbeast and ordered his men to look round the area. Standing up you made your way towards the captain, noticing how tense they'd gotten as they saw you.
"highblood, what gives me the honor to see you this evening?" they said in a stoic yet polite tone. Putting on a tough facade you placed a hand on your axe, feeling the troll's breath hitch.
"Just being curious, that's all captain" you said sternly, your eyes lingering on the alleyway the Signless had fled behind
"why are all your men turning this place upside down? You realize there is to be more stalls here later on in the night" you said, a cool tone to your voice . The captain's hands visibly shook as he took a scroll from his belt and unraveled it. A picture of the Signless was printed on with a bounty over his head
"we're looking for a mutant causing trouble around this area, he's been filling the low blood's heads with ridiculous notions and we're under strict orders from the Grand Highblood to collect him" he said, letting you take the paper from his hands so you could inspect it
"Hmm...well that's a problem indeed" you said, chuckling softly and rolling the scroll back up
"well you're wasting your time here my blue blooded friend, I've been wandering around here for the last ten minutes and I haven't seen a troll looking remotely like this one" you stated, handing the scroll back. The captain nodded, bowing his head
"I appreciate the information you've given me ma'am, me and my men will leave at once" he said, thanking you again and bellowing out to leave this area and move onto the next town. In a whirlwind of hoofbeasts and dust the group was gone. You instantly made your way over to the alleyway and called out softly
"if you're still there, you can come out now. The guards have left" you finished, a smile appearing on your face as the four trolls appeared from the shadows. Pulling his hood down the Signless immediately began to talk to you like you were an old friend
"amazing! I thought it would be sweeps until we would be given support from a highblood, and a seadweller no less!" he exclaimed, making Disciple giggle. Dolorosa mentioned that it would only be a few hours before the sun rose and they would have to return to their cave to eat then rest. Signless grabbed your hand excitedly
"you should come with us! we owe you something after all" he said, not even giving you a chance to respond as he and Disciple pulled you along. You simply giggled, letting them drag you as they talked to you. Helmsman and Dolorosa followed behind, the jade blooded troll having a rather amused look on her face.
"Rotha are you thure this is thafe? theadwellers are the wortht!" Dolorosa shushed him, watching as you burst out laughing when Disciple tripped.
"She drove away multiple blue bloods away from us, I doubt she's out to hurt us. Plus you were staring at her through the whole of Signless's speech" she said, smiling at her friends flushed face.
"I-I did not!" he exclaimed but Dolorosa just chuckled as they entered the small cave they'd all been hiding out in during the day. Moments later the five of you were huddled round a fire with a bowl of soup perched in your lap
"I know this probably less...glamorous than what you're used to but I hope you enjoy it" Dolorosa spoke to you as the others began to eat
"I doubt she wont, your cooking is always purrfect!" Disciple said, rolling out her 'r's into a purring sound. You smiled, eating a spoonful and instantly your fins puffed up
"this is amazing!" you said, beginning to devour the food infront of you. Signless gave you a grin as they all continued to eat.
"I'm guessing its like royalty down where you live" Signless commented, making you smile uneasily
"things are pretty fancy where i'm from, yes" you began
"we all live very close together so its like a banquet most nights. I prefer to be on my own though, being around so many narrow minded people can make your think pan ache" you said. From the corner of your eye you could see the yellow blood scowl and you turned to face him, eyebrows raised
"is something wrong?" you asked, finishing your food. He looked at you with some form of hatred in his eyes, making you frown
"you make it thound like ith the end of the world to be in your pothition. Boo hoo you have to thpend time with other highbloodth" he said in a mocking tone. Signless gasped
"Psiioniic! how can you be so rude to someone who prevented us from being culled?" he almsot yelled at his yellow blooded friend. Psiioniic? that's his name? You watched as Psiioniic hissed, his eyes sparking a little
"the'th jutht another theadweller who thinks her life is too hard, talk about thpoilt brat" he sneered, making your heart sink a little. What the hell was this guy's problem?!
"you know what i'll jutht leave, don't want to thpoil your happy get together with the enemy" The female trolls almost snarled at his words but like he said, he got up and left the cave to sit just a few meters away. There was a rather uncomfortable silence for a few seconds until the candy red troll spoke
"I'm terribly sorry, Psiioniic can be a little grouchy at times" he said sadly, looking at his friend from the inside of the cave. Standing up you helped Dolorosa pick up the bowls and you gave Signless a smile
"I don't blame him, people are usually scared or hate me anyway. We are pretty foul" you said as Disciple pulled your hand to offer to let you read her book. With a smile you nodded eagerly, sitting between Signless and Disciple as they spoke of each speech the red blooded troll had done. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Dolorosa scolding Psiioniic and you smirked. The jade blood really knew how to tell someone off when she needed to.
After quite a while of talking you stood up, stretching your limbs out. Psiioniic was still outside, boy he was stubborn. The three others had tried to get him to come inside but he refused.
"hey i'm gonna go speak with Psiioniic" you told Disciple who looked worriedly at you
"are mew sure?, he's very snappy when he's angry" she said, pouting. This must be a regular thing then. You smiled as you removed your axe and shield from your belt and reassured her that it would be fine. Approaching the said troll slowly you exited the cave and sat yourself down by the yellow blooded troll.
"hey" Psiioniic seemed to jump out of his trance and stare at you
"great, what do you want now" he groaned, beginning to stand up but you grabbed his arm and stopped him from doing so
"don't get your panties in a twist, I just wanted to apologize" he looked at you in shock and sat once more, his hands resting in his lap
"why would you want to apologithe to me?" He asked quietly as you edged closer, crossing your legs
"I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying back there, I shouldn't have complained at all" you said quietly, messing with the fabric of your clothing
"plus, you were under the imprisonment of seadwellers before you escaped right?" you whispered and he froze, nodding slowly. You sighed, slouching against the back of a rock.
"well doesn't that make everything better" you grumbled, earning a small chuckle from Psiioniic. You looked to him, smiling as he took in your features, much like he did in the town
"but you know, I'm not like those trolls" you began, gazing up at the starry sky
"Being around those people made me feel so uncomfortable because they would always talk about low bloods like they were dirt. Why should the colour of our blood determine how we're treated?" Psiioniic stared at you and said nothing, you sat up, picking up a stone and throwing it into the small stream below.
"whatever happened to you, i'm sorry. Please just know that I'm not, nor will I ever be like that." you finished. Psiioniic rubbed his eyes with his hand and gave you a toothy smile
"well don't I feel like an athhole now" he said, making the two of you laugh with each other. The both of you began to chat to each other, speaking of your lives and what the four of them were going to be doing once their left this town. You had almost been speaking for an hour when you stood up, stretching out
"well, it's going to be morning soon so you should head inside" you said, helping your new friend to his feet
"what about you though? thurely you can't get back to your hive in time" he said gently, not letting go of your hand. You blushed softly and nodded when he offered for you to stay with them for the day. Hand in hand you began to walk back to the cave, neither of you really wanting to let go
"Though for thome thrange reathon, you never told uth your name" he said, looking at you. You turned to him, cheeks flushed and a smile on your face which made him blush
"I'm (name)"
"Sweetheart I can't hear anything if you keep squealing like that" Signless told his matesprit as she furiously scribbled in her book. Dolorosa laughed softly, making sure they weren't loud enough so you could hear
"how can I be quiet when I have a purrfect ship to attend to?!" she said, finishing off the tiny sketch in her book of you and a certain yellow blooded troll.
A red heart painted in between.
part 2?