Back then was fun, I wish it never stopped.
Dusk came fairly quickly, and the little troll woke up to his guest the Signless poking his lusus. Surprisingly, the big bloke didn't mind the other troll touching him. That was weird, his lusus never liked it when he touched him, but this complete stranger could? Fucking double standard.
"He's letting you touch him?"
"Yeah, he actually seems kind of nice! You really live with him all the time?"
He nodded. "Do you have a lusus?"
There was an awkward pause. "Not like yours, that's for sure!" Before the little guy could say anything else, the Signless spoke again. "You have a nice hive!"
"No, I don't. This is a wreck."
"Better than mine! You designed it, right?"
"Yeah, when I was a wriggler. That's why it's not exactly stable."
The Signless wasn't really listening at this point, he just walked around feeling the walls. He felt the creaky boards and for a moment, there might have been the slightest hint of jealousy in his eyes. He came to the hole in the roof and asked why it was there.
"I did something I wasn't supposed to when I was little."
"What?"
"Ate that honey. For some reason, it's really dangerous to me but not my lusus."
"So you're psychic?"
That was a weird word. "I don't know, am I?"
"Can you like…make people go to sleep and move things around with your think pan?"
"I can pick up things and make bees go to sleep. That's about it."
"So you're a Ψiioniic!"
"A what?"
"It's just a word for a strong psychic. At least, that's what I heard when I was schoolfed."
"Oh…" He kicked his feet together, disappointed he couldn't learn these things from his lusus.
"That's why your eyes are like that? Because you're a Ψiioniic?"
"Yeah, I don't know why. Is it normal?"
"I've never seen anything like that before. I haven't seen a lot, though. I'm barely out of the cave."
"You live in a cave?"
"Yeah. I should probably go find it…"
"Do you need help? I'm not doing anything else important."
His voice faltered. "Well, I don't think my…um, lusus would like knowing I talked to another troll."
"Why?"
"Uh…I have to go." The Signless darted out of the hive, leaving behind his shoes. Now, why would that little asshole have to leave so badly that he didn't have time to put his shoes back on?
He opened the door and saw the Signless running for the hills like there was an army of ghosts behind him. Then, an idea struck him. The troll quietly closed the door and pursued him, hiding behind bushes whenever he checked if he was being followed. The Signless would stop, the troll would stop. The Signless would walk, the troll would walk. The Signless would run, the troll would walk and find him later.
They played this game of stop and go for about a half hour. They passed through some hills and valleys, dodging a stampede of raging hoofbeasts. The sky was very purple that evening. The pink moon was new and the green moon was full, as if there was only one moon in the sky. The Signless came to a small cliff and smiled, relieved he found what he was looking for.
It was a cave, nothing too special. No paint on the walls, no floorboards at all. This was even worse than an unstable death trap of a hive - it wasn't even a hive at all. All that was there was an unlit fire pit in the entrance to the cave and bats hanging from the stalactites. Some blankets were bundled up in the back, as well as some supplies to make clothing. A few books were littered around the place, but there were no other possessions in sight.
He climbed the ledge and ran to the cave. There was no one inside, which obviously distressed the Signless. He sat on the floor and mumbled to himself, just incomprehensible words. The little troll almost felt bad for the guy. No, scratch that. He was devastated that the first troll he encountered lost his lusus. Should I blow my cover?
The young troll came out from behind the ledge and walked toward the the fire. The weeping troll was too busy looking down at the floor. He put a hand on the Signless's shoulder. Surprised, the Signless quickly wiped his face on his cloak so his tears weren't visible and kept staring at the floor, as if this was regular business for him.
"Who are you?"
"Um…call me the Ψiioniic."
