The war was comming, like a red glow that sat upon the horizon, it was noticable. Dolorosa confined herself to her new home, working hard to make it something she was proud of, something she would enjoy staying in for many sweeps. But every day that passed, seemed more and more painful, harder to get through. Disciple was around more and more, hanging off of her son with that high-pitched squeaky voice that carried a low rumble in it. Every day, she became more and more jelous of the person stealing her son away from her. But she couldn't do anything about it. Sure, Signless was not her own, and never would be, but that didn't stop her from having those close connections with him.
Signless sat on his bed, leaning against the wall. One thumb was in his mouth, his jaw moving slowly as he chewed on the nail, eyes aimed at the ceiling in concentration. Dolorosa lightly rapped her knuckles against his door, leaning in slightly with a smile on her face. It took a few moments before his eyes flicked over to her. For a brief moment she saw that small child frolicking in the woods, one finger forever pointing out towards the sand dunes in the distance. "Are you busy?" Her voice was soft as she straightened up a little, wandering into his room.
While his room was neat and tidy, it was also messy. Paper, maps and plans lined one wall, a desk and several spots on the floor. Dolorosa made sure to tread carefully. She never knew what was garbage and what was still needed in his room. "No, what's up?" Signless straightened up, swinging his feet off his bed so she could sit down. Dolorosa hesitated for a moment, before she sat, hands palm up in her lap, eyes focused upon them.
"Where has the time gone?" She questioned to herself.
"What?" Signless almost sounded irritated, but he was merely intruiged by her question.
Dolorosa raised her head, smiling warmly at him. "Sometimes, I wonder when you grew up. When you stopped calling me 'mom.' When you stopped wanting to climb those sand dunes and eat all the berries hanging from the bushes." Dolorosa looked back down at her hand, slowly tracing the lines on her palm. "But then I start to tell myself, 'where would you be right now if he hadn't? What would you be doing right now?' and then I'm kind of glad that you grew up. But still..."
"Well, you're not really my mom, so I thought it was odd to call you something like that." Signless said, leaning back on his elbows. "I thought I climbed those dunes one day. When my blood didn't show through my skin and I looked like a normal every day troll? I still eat all the berries too."
"I know. I still feel like your mom though," Dolorosa started before she turned a little to face him. "So tell me your plans for taking over the world."
"I'm not going to take over the world mo-" Signless stopped, nose wrinkling as he fought with the word. "Dolorosa."
"Mom works too you know, and I was just joking. But I do want to know what you have planned."
Signless rolled his eyes. "Not in front of Disciple okay? She'll find it odd. I haven't exactly told her everything about you, you know." Dolorosa sighed, but only shrugged at this. She expected as much. "My plans...well I want to unite all the trolls and stop this war...but at the same time I know that's going to be hard. I'm still trying to figure out where to start."
"How about with more members? Three isn't exactly a big number you know."
"I know, but getting the low bloods to band together isn't exactly going to help me. That's basically all that I can get. If I tried for a high blood, they'd kill me thinking it was treason. Then they'd go after you and Disciple." Signless looked at Dolorosa with saddened eyes. He truely feared for their lives.
"So she's not a high blood." Dolorosa was actually fairly happy with the news.
"No. She's actually one right below you, which would make her a low blood as well." Signless explained.
Dolorosa sighed. She hated that fact. She was so close to being concidered a highblood, but at the same time so far away. "Well, maybe see if you can find someone who believes in what you say. It doesn't really matter if they're concidered high bloods or not you know. I mean, there's very few highbloods."
Signless thought this over for a moment. "How many people do you think I would need?"
"That's completely up to you. If you think three works, then ignore what I said. If you think four works, take four, if you think 15 is what it takes, strive for 15!" Dolorosa pulled Signless in for a quick hug before holding him out at arms length. "The point is, it doesn't really matter how many there are, as long as they are willing to defend you and other trolls are willing to listen. Its up to you to decide what is best and what isn't."
"Right. Thanks mom." Signless nodded, biting at his bottom lip.
"So, once you have your minions," Signless gave her a look for that, "how are you going to convince the other trolls on your beliefs?"
"Well, we have a war coming up. The Condense believes what she is doing is right, so I was thinking on holding demonstrations or something where I basically tell everyone that's a bunch of bull and that we're all going to die if she goes through with her plans."
"Great plan of action, what if it backfires?"
"What if it backfires?" Signless challenged. Dolorosa smiled at this. No hesitation in his eyes, no hesitation in his plan.
"Then I guess it backfires, doesn't it?"
