So first, some general updates for people who follow my other works out of the way- I'm still working on my other fic for atla and vld, and in fact, have a good chunk of the next kintsugi chapter written. But alas, dips into other fandoms are part and parcel of following a fic author with ADHD. But I promise nothing's been abandoned! I just really, really wanted to write this fic.
And now onto the fic itself! This is the first fic I've written for Tales of Arcadia, so I hope it's a good one! I really love reading fic about everyone's favorite half-troll, so I wanted to do my own spin on it- thus you have this AU, wherein Jim is born half-troll but eventually still becomes the Trollhunter anyways. I guess this is the prologue? Prelude? It's before the canon stuff, which I'll get to eventually.
Please enjoy!
go into your local forest and you will find a friend and a boy
part one
jim & toby
The moon was high overhead when he first spotted the sign.
He'd been following the road for awhile, making sure to stay just out of sight of any passing cars. Not that there were many of them at this time of night- most humans were probably at home, asleep in their beds at this hour. Which... didn't sound that bad, actually. The sleeping part, at least. He'd been walking for nearly a full day, trying to put some distance between himself and the last place he'd called home, however temporarily. He'd only taken a short break in the middle of the afternoon, when the sun was too intense for him to move around much.
Checking to see if there was anyone out for a night drive, he crept up to the road to get a better look at the sign. It was blue, emblazoned with a picture of a large bridge. Unable to help himself, he snorted.
That seemed fitting. After all, trolls lived under bridges.
Who knew? Maybe this was a good sign. He could use a little luck, especially after he had to leave the last town in a hurry. He'd been spotted by another troll, and had just barely managed to give them the slip. After that it was a simple matter of waiting for sunrise and hightailing it out of there. Even the most determined troll wouldn't follow him this far.
Not that he knew for sure that it would- or even that they intended him harm. He doubted they could tell anything was off about him at first glance, but the moment they looked closer, they were bound to pick up on differences that they couldn't ignore... if his name didn't give him away first.
There weren't exactly a lot of trolls named Jim.
But even if they somehow didn't notice anything weird, his dad had left behind three simple rules, and he intended to follow them to the letter.
Avoid other trolls-
-avoid other humans-
-and never stay in one place for too long.
Follow those, and he (probably) wouldn't die.
Adjusting the strap of his ratty backpack, he mouthed the words of the sign out loud. "Welcome to Arcadia Oaks. Huh."
Turning on his heel, he glanced behind him. From here, he could just make out the lights of the city, glistening like pinpricks in the dark. His new home.
At least, for a little while.
"Fifth grade'll be fun, she said," Toby Domzalski muttered to himself as he kicked along a stone, "-you should dress up for your first day, she said. It'll go great."
Well, it hadn't been, he thought glumly, giving the stone another kick as he trudged home. And dressing up had been a terrible idea too. Steve had stolen his bow tie within like, the first five minutes of class time. Which was a shame, because if you asked him, he thought he'd looked pretty good in it.
(Not that he'd admit as much to his Nana, not when that would just be encouraging her. I mean, she had to let him start picking out his own clothes at some point, right?)
Even worse, he hadn't managed to make any new friends. I mean yeah, sure, it was just his first day and all, but he'd been hoping for something a little more, you know, what with the new class and everything. Sure, it was mostly just the same kids as fourth grade- Arcadia wasn't exactly big- but it was a different mix of kids from last year, and that was what counted. It wasn't like he was exactly disliked, but he was ten years old, and he'd never had anything close to what you could call a best friend before.
He should have one by now, right?
Right?
Or maybe not. Maybe that was what middle school was for, when that puberty stuff Nana had spent the single most traumatic hour of his life going over with him hit.
His stomach grumbled and he came to a stop, placing a hand over it. He couldn't tell if he was just hungry or if that was the chicken surprise from lunch coming back to haunt him. Maybe he should take that shortcut- you know, just in case.
Jogging ahead to the nearest intersection, he made a sharp turn into the woods instead of crossing the street like he usually did. It was a straight shot to the back of his house from here, bypassing several blocks worth of walking, which was always a plus in his book anyways.
That new bike Nana had promised him for his eleventh birthday couldn't come soon enough. This time, he'd be sure not to wreck it like he did his last one. Or the one before that, or the one before that... look, all he was saying was that he had terrible luck with bikes. But this time would be different.
You know. Probably.
Man he wished he could say that with more confidence.
Pushing thoughts of ruined bicycles aside, Toby made his way through the woods. He wasn't exactly much of one for nature himself, but he had found some pretty good rocks in these woods, so they had that going for them at least. Maybe he hadn't accomplished his goal of having an awesome-sauce fifth grade debut, but he was pretty confident he could at least accomplish his much more modest goal of expanding his collection this year. He'd already found a pretty cool-
crunch
Freezing in his tracks, Toby glanced nervously over his shoulder. That had sounded... pretty loud, whatever that had been. Maybe a squirrel with a particularly tough nut? It wasn't like there were any dangerous predators lurking this close to town, right? Nana would have warned him if there were.
Slowly taking a quiet step forward, Toby exhaled as the forest stayed silent save for the sound of birds. Maybe he'd just been-
crunch
...nope, hadn't been hearing things. That was definitely real.
His eyes darting around the woods, Toby shifted nervously on his feet. Hearing it for a second time, it didn't sound like something chomping on bones. More like crumpling metal, but who would be crumpling metal in the middle of a forest? Was there a secret junk stash he didn't know about or something? Because he'd taken this shortcut dozens of times, and he'd never seen anything like that.
Also if there was a secret junk stash, he totally wanted in. If there was one thing watching countless hours of TV had taught him, it was that they always had the coolest stuff- and the TV would never lie to him.
crunch
Then again, maybe he should just hurry home and hope whatever it was didn't follow him...
...but who was he kidding. His curiosity was definitely winning the battle against his fear. Maybe just a quick peek.
Almost holding his breath, Toby crept closer and closer towards the source of the sound. There was tree up ahead that had grown weird around some rocks, resulting in a nook large enough for him to stand up in with his arms raised, and if he wasn't wrong, that was where the sound was coming from.
crunch
Holding his breath for real this time, Toby slowly peered around a tree. At first he didn't see anything, before picking out a darkened silhouette crouching in the tree nook. A worn out backpack sat just outside, several partially crushed soda cans spilling out of it. As he watched, the figure lifted one up to his mouth-
-and took a bite right out of it.
Toby yelped, quickly slapping his hands over his mouth in an attempt to smother the sound. His heart pounded in his chest as his eyes darted back towards the tree nook, hoping they hadn't heard him...
-nope. Nope, they'd definitely heard.
The person's- or the creature's, Toby abruptly realized- gaze snapped towards him, their eyes blazing a fierce blue in the shadow of the nook in a way no human's could.
...yeah, he should probably run.
He should, except he couldn't move, like the creature had paralyzed him with its gaze or something. It turned all the way around, allowing him a better look at it- it looked human enough at first glance, with two arms and two legs, but he was pretty sure humans didn't have horns or tusks, and they most definitely weren't blue.
Today had officially gone from bad to worse.
For what felt like the longest moment of his life, the creature simply stared at him, before it slowly swallowed. If those teeth could rip apart a soda can like that, Toby could only imagine what they could do to him.
"I'm... guessing you don't want a bite?"
Toby blinked.
Then blinked again, because it sounded a lot like the creature had talked.
"Okay, that was probably a poor choice of words," it said, "-but uh... hi?"
"...hi?" Toby said back, his mouth pretty much on autopilot at this point. "Are you, uh... are you not going to eat me?"
He was pretty sure the creature looked offended at the mere suggestion. "...no?"
"Oh," Toby said, "-uh, that's- that's good."
Yeah. Not being eaten was always good. But also- what.
"What's your name?" Toby blurted out. "I'm Toby."
Okay, why was he asking the weird forest creature their name? And why in the world had he given them his name?
"Toby," it- actually probably a he, now that he got a better look at it- repeated, "-I'm Jim."
Wait, Jim? The creature's name was Jim?
"Your name's Jim?" Toby blurted out before he could stop himself.
The creature- Jim, apparently- frowned, his brows drawing together in a remarkably human expression. "Something wrong with that?"
"No, no," Toby said, holding him hands, "-it's a good name. Solid. I was just... expecting something different, I guess? I mean- and don't take this the wrong way- but that's a pretty human name and you're uh... kind of blue?"
He swore Jim rolled his eyes. "Gee, I hadn't noticed."
Chuckling nervously, Toby shifted awkwardly on his feet. Now that the imminent danger of being eaten had passed, and names had been exchanged, he was feeling strangely nervous- except maybe not all that strange since he was still facing down a creature of unknown origins and all, but it was a different kind of nerves than before.
"I should- I should probably uh, you know... go?" Toby said, slowly inching away. "Hate to interrupt you in the middle of your uh... meal."
"Wait!"
Jim shot to his feet, only stopping to grunt in annoyance when the tip of one of his horns got caught in the tree nook. Toby winced in sympathy as he yanked it out, but it didn't seem to bother him one bit, instead looking towards him almost pleadingly.
"You don't have to go just yet, do you?"
Toby opened up his mouth to respond, before quickly snapping it shut. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something in his eyes that almost seemed... familiar. It hit him a second later- he was lonely. What he saw in his eyes was loneliness.
Yeah. He knew a thing or two about that.
And now that he had a better look at him, he looked... kind of young, actually. He was only as about tall as the nook itself, and those horns that had scared him so badly a few minutes ago didn't even look as if they had fully grown in yet. His gray hoodie looked like it had seen better days, and his jeans didn't look as if they were faring much better.
It was more than enough to give him pause.
"Well," Toby began, "-I mean... I could come back? Assuming you'll still be here in like, twenty minutes. Because to be honest with you, I really need to pee."
"Oh!" Jim said. "Uh... yeah, I'll still be here in twenty minutes."
"Great." Toby said. "I'll be right back, I swear."
Jim's eyes lit up, an impressive feat given the fact that they'd already kind of been glowing. If his mind hadn't already been made up, it was definitely made up now.
"...and there he goes."
Watching as the human slowly faded into the distance, Jim immediately slapped his face. What was he thinking? He should have just run the second he noticed him, so why in the world had he tried to talk to him? He'd lived this long by staying away from humans, not by chatting them up.
Then again, he'd never exactly crossed paths with a kid his own age before.
(Or at least he thought they were the same age. It was kind of hard to tell with humans. They were all kind of on the small side, even as adults.)
Still, talking to him had been a stupid thing to do. He really should have known better. Even worse, he'd actually asked him to come back. What was he going to do if he brought an adult with him? Or several adults? With weapons? His dad had always warned him to stay away from humans for a reason. If they found out about him...
...well, he did say he wouldn't be back for like, twenty minutes. Maybe he could run away in the meantime, move on. Sure, it kind of sucked when he'd just gotten here, but it wasn't like he ever planned to stay in this city for long. Constantly staying on the move was the other way he'd managed to survive this long. He hadn't really talked to anyone like that since...
...well, since he got separated from his dad.
Yeah, okay. So maybe he was a little lonely. It was still a stupid thing to do.
And yet, he wasn't running yet. Which, by the way? Also stupid. He really should get going if he wanted the best chance at getting away. While he was confident a human couldn't catch up with him, he'd only just gotten to this city, and he didn't know these woods all that well yet. Plus with the sun at its peak, he'd rather not move if he didn't absolutely have to. It might not turn him to stone like it would a full troll, but it was still massively uncomfortable.
But if he stayed here, he'd be breaking one of his dad's rules.
...but he also might get the chance to actually talk to someone for once. And it was just a kid! What was the worst that could happen?
(He could end up in a cage somewhere, that's what- or worse.)
Glancing in the direction the kid had gone, Jim frowned. If he wanted to leave, now was his best chance...
...but Toby seemed... nice. He hadn't even screamed, which was what a lot of humans did when they saw him. Maybe... maybe he wouldn't give him away.
Or maybe he was about to do something really, really stupid.
(Honestly? It wouldn't be the first time. Hopefully it just wouldn't also be his last.)
"How was your day, Toby-Pie?"
Oh right, Nana.
In his hurry to get back home, he'd almost forgotten that his grandma would be there waiting for him. No doubt she wanted a full report on what had happened at school today, but he had a promise to keep- and also an urgent bathroom need. That too.
(Definitely the chicken surprise. Never again, he vowed.)
"It was great, Nana." Toby said, tossing his backpack aside and scurrying towards the bathroom without hesitation. "Just gotta use to the toilet."
"Did you make any friends?" She called after him.
Toby paused at the door, thoughts flashing back to Jim. Now that he was out of the forest, the whole thing felt like a surreal dream, but he felt strangely confident that it had actually happened.
"I... might have made one, actually." Toby said slowly, still unsure if he could really call Jim a friend. The whole not being human thing aside, they'd barely even talked. "I'm supposed to meet up with him in a few minutes."
"Oh, how wonderful!" Nana clapped. "Will he be coming here?"
"No, I'm going to his place." Toby said.
You know, if you could qualify a tree nook in the middle of the forest as that. Something told him Jim probably didn't have your standard two bedroom, two bathroom house to go back to.
"That's so good to hear." Nana said. "What's his name?"
"Jim." Toby said absently, completely missing the brief flicker of his grandmother's eyes.
"Jim," Nana repeated, "-what a lovely name. Be sure to tell me all about it when you get back."
"Promise." Toby said, shutting the bathroom door behind him.
Well, mostly. He'd definitely be leaving out the part where Jim was blue. Something told him his new could-be friend would rather he leave that part out.
"Wow, you actually came back."
"Hey, I promised, didn't I?" The human- Toby- shrugged, pretending he hadn't jumped out of his skin at the sound of his voice. "Plus I wanted to make sure that I didn't imagine the whole thing. But hey, you're real!"
"Last I checked." Jim arched a brow, pretending he wasn't definitely checking over Toby's shoulder for any sign that he hadn't come alone. "So... Toby, right?"
He didn't see anyone else- and more importantly, he didn't hear anyone else either. Huh. Maybe he really had come alone. That was... honestly kind of a surprise. He'd been half expecting that he'd need to book it out of here and take his chances with the mid-afternoon sun, but apparently not.
"The one and only." Toby said, eying him with the expected amount of caution. "You said it was Jim, right? I didn't mishear that?"
"You didn't." Jim replied.
An awkward silence fell between them, and abruptly, Jim realized he... didn't actually know what to say. He hadn't really planned this far ahead. Plus, he'd... never actually spoken with anyone that wasn't his dad before. Even when he'd still been, well... around, they kept to themselves, away from humans and trolls alike.
"So, uh..." Toby began, his eyes darting around their surroundings like he was looking for something, "-is it just you out here, or...?"
"Just me." Jim said, before frowning, regarding the boy with a suspicious squint. "Why are you asking?"
"No reason!" Toby quickly said, holding up his hands. His suspicion must have been obvious, because he slowly lowered them, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Just... maybe wanted some warning if there was like, something around with even bigger teeth."
Oh. Yeah, that was fair. Trolls could definitely look scary to humans, and he was no exception. It was no surprise Toby might be worried.
"Nope," Jim shook his head, "-I've been on my own for awhile now."
Something in Toby's expression instantly shifted, almost seeming... sympathetic? Understanding? He wasn't exactly an expert on human facial expressions.
"Oh," he said, "-yeah, I kind of get that. It's just me and my Nana back home."
Jim frowned. He'd been under the impression that human families stuck together, but he guessed maybe that wasn't always the case. Maybe... maybe something had happened to Toby's parents too. Not that he knew for sure anything had happened to his dad. Sure, things had been bad when they'd gotten separated, but there was no reason to believe he was... well, gone, right? Not until he had proof.
(But then, it had been years since then, and he hadn't found him either.
He'd promised.)
"Oh," Jim said, "-uh... sorry."
"Eh," Toby shrugged, "-it's not like you had anything to do with it."
And there was another awkward silence. Shifting on his feet, Jim rubbed his arm. What was he supposed to say in this situation? What did humans even usually talk about?
"So, uh," Jim began, deciding to at least sit down so that his horns stopped scraping the top of the nook every time he so much as moved his head, "-how uh- how old are you?"
Toby took that as his cue to sit down too. "Ten, but I'll be eleven in a couple of months."
Jim perked up at that. "Really? You're the same age as me, then."
"Wait, what? You're only ten?" Toby asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You look way taller than ten, dude. You're even bigger than Steve!"
Jim arched a brow. "Steve?"
"Just a kid in my class who's a real buttsnack." Toby grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "He's always pushing everyone else around. Stole my bow tie and everything."
"Sounds like a real jerk, alright." Jim observed- not that he had any idea what a bow tie was. "Although are you sure you're not just small for your age? Because I could have sworn that humans my age were a little... I don't know, taller?"
"Eh, I can't deny it." Toby admitted. "Speaking of that, and since there's no way to ask this that's not rude, but uh... what exactly are you anyways?"
"I-"
"Oh!" Toby cut him off, his eyes lighting up. "Are you like some sort of super secret government project that escaped from a lab or something? Because it'd be totally awesome-sauce if you were. Or like a super cool mutant dude, like from the Y-Force? You do sort of look like Shadowcrawler..."
"The what crawler?" Jim arched a brow, the edge of his lips nevertheless twitching into a faint smile. Toby getting excited was a good thing, right? At least he didn't seemed scared anymore.
"You know, Shadowcrawler!" Toby exclaimed, before squinting at him almost suspiciously. "Don't tell me you've never read any Y-Force."
"I... haven't?" Jim replied.
He did occasionally get his hands on reading material, but it wasn't exactly his favorite hobby. He tried to keep up teaching himself after he'd separated from his dad, but it was a bit hard without someone around to guide him. Most books he ended up with eventually ended up as food anyways. There was only so much he could shove into his backpack, and it made more sense to prioritize clothes and well... food.
"Aw man, that sucks." Toby said. "Guess you haven't seen the movies either."
"Nope." Jim said, giving the p a pop.
Movies weren't exactly something he saw a lot of either, although he did know of them. His dad had snuck the two of them into a drive-in movie theater once, but he'd been so young that he barely even remembered what was playing- just the experience of it. The last time he'd be able to watch one had been maybe half a year ago now, when he'd hung out in a tree during an outdoor movie screening- Gun Robot, or something.
"Eh, that one's probably for the best." Toby shrugged. "Most of them kind of sucked anyways."
"I'll just take your word for it." Jim said. "But I'm not a night crawler-"
"-Shadowcrawler," Toby corrected.
"Right, Shadowcrawler." Jim repeated. "I'm not one of those. I'm a troll. Or well... half-troll, at least."
"A troll?" Toby frowned. "You mean like, lives under a bridge? That kind of troll?"
"That's the one." Jim said. "Although we don't all live under bridges."
"Wait, so trolls are real?" Toby asked, leaning a little closer, before pausing. "Also, if you're only part troll, then what's the other half?"
"I-"
Actually, should he really be telling Toby all this stuff? They'd only just met, and he still wasn't sure if he could entirely trust him yet. But it had been so long since he'd talked to... well, anyone, that he couldn't help but blurt out whatever came to mind.
"Wait," Toby's mouth screwed into a frown, "-is this stuff supposed to be a secret?"
"I... kinda?" Jim admitted, rubbing his elbow. "You weren't even supposed to see me, actually. I should have just run."
"Hang on," Toby's brow shot up, "-you wanted to run?"
"Well... yeah." Jim admitted. "I've been trying to avoid humans."
"So why didn't you?" Toby asked.
"I don't know." Jim shrugged. "I guess I'd never really run into anyone my own age before. I thought maybe-"
He stopped himself short, already knowing how ridiculous what he was about to say was. It wasn't like he'd be staying in Arcadia Oaks for very long anyways, assuming he didn't just leave tonight. It would be the safest thing to do, even if Toby promised to keep his mouth shut. Sticking to his dad's rules was how he'd survived this long.
"Thought what?" Toby asked, tone audibly curious.
"Nothing," Jim said, "-it's stupid."
It was stupid. There was no way something like that would even be possible for him.
"Aw, c'mon, it can't be that stupid." Toby assured him.
Jim bit his lip, hesitating. Things had gone well this far, but...
"I thought," he began, his voice quiet, "-I thought maybe we could be friends."
For a long moment, Toby didn't say anything. Dropping his gaze, Jim resisted the urge to sink further back into the tree nook. Stupid! He knew he should have just kept it to himself. Why would a human kid even want to be friends with someone like him? He'd probably just come back because he was curious- and sure, maybe he wasn't acting scared now, but he had definitely been when he'd first seen him.
He was a monster to humans, and a freak to trolls. He didn't belong anywhere.
"Okay."
Jim blinked, his head snapping up. "What?"
"I said okay." Toby said. "I mean, this wasn't exactly how I expected to make a new friend, but hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, am I right?"
"I..." Jim trailed off, unable to believe his ears.
Toby wanted to be friends? With him?
"You're sure?" Jim asked, still hesitant.
"Wouldn't have I said it if I wasn't." Toby said.
"And you won't tell anyone else about me?" Jim asked.
Toby winced a little at that. "I... might have vaguely mentioned you to my Nana already. But it's fine! She just thinks you're someone I met at school, that's all!"
Exhaling, Jim slowly dropped the hand he'd unconsciously placed over his heart. "Just... let her keep thinking that for now, I guess."
"Can do." Toby said. "But I promise, not a word to anyone else."
Jim hesitated. This still could be one of the dumbest ideas he'd ever had, but... well, it was just nice to have someone to talk to for once. And a friend?
He'd never had one of those before. He never thought he could.
Maybe... maybe he should give this a shot. At least try. And if things didn't work out... well, he was used to having to skip town at a moment's notice.
"Okay," he said, "-friends... friends sound good."
Toby smiled, and he couldn't help but feel like he'd made the right choice.
A friend! He actually had a friend! Not just an acquaintance, but a real, actual friend.
Sure, said friend was blue, but honestly? Having a friend that wasn't human was actually way cooler than having a human friend. He couldn't wait to tell Nana!
Except no, he'd promised Jim he wouldn't tell anyone about him. And if he'd learned anything from the copious amounts of sci-fi he'd watched, it was that there were consequences whenever something non-human got their existence leaked to the public. And frankly, he'd rather his new friend not wind up strapped to a table somewhere.
(Jim probably wouldn't be found of the idea either.)
In any case, he and Jim had spent hours talking. The next thing he knew, the sun was starting to set. He'd wanted to talk longer, but he didn't want Nana to worry. She didn't exactly want him wandering the streets after dark. He'd promised Jim they'd meet up again tomorrow after school, and he'd promised he'd be there.
Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.
He had a friend.
A friend.
Okay, so maybe it was a little too early to be calling Toby that- sure, they'd mutually agreed on the whole friendship thing, but he wasn't entirely convinced that was how it actually worked. That had seemed way too easy.
Aw heck, who was he kidding? He had a real friend!
Unable to contain his excitement, Jim let out a small whoop. After that initial awkward period, he and Toby had gotten along great, actually. He'd told him some things about his travels, and in exchange, Toby had told him all about Arcadia. He'd been so engrossed in the conversation that he hadn't even noticed it when the sun started to set.
That was... probably actually something he should work on. He was already breaking one of his dad's rules by talking to Toby, so he needed to at least try and be more aware of his surroundings. The first order of business was finding a new place for them to meet up- if Toby had stumbled on him there, the odd were good someone else could too.
You know, assuming Toby actually showed up tomorrow.
Trying to shake the thought off, Jim grabbed a low tree branch and hauled himself up onto it. It creaked a little under his weight, but otherwise held. Grabbing onto the next, he steadily made his way up the tree, coming to a stop halfway up. Hanging his backpack up on nearby branch, he settled himself against the trunk. He'd be safe here for the night, away from any prying human eyes- or troll eyes, for that matter. They didn't usually make a habit of climbing trees.
(Granted, he didn't actually know if there even were any trolls in Arcadia yet, but better safe than sorry.)
Closing his eyes, his thoughts again drifted to Toby. He was really taking a risk here, but he couldn't help but feel like it was worth it. Who knows? Maybe if his dad were here, he'd even agree. After all, he had to have trusted a human at some point, otherwise he never would have been born.
Granted, it had ended with the both of them living on the run, but...
...well, he'd just be careful.
"Nana, I'm back!"
"Welcome back, Toby-Pie!" Nana peeked out from the kitchen, a broad smile on her face. "How did it go with your new friend?"
"Great!" Toby called back, already heading upstairs. The more he could avoid telling Nana about Jim, the better. He wasn't about to screw things up this fast.
...also, why was Mister Meow-Meow PI hissing at him?
He almost missed Jim the third time around.
It was surprising how well he blended into the darkness of the tree nook, save for the blue of his eyes. If he hadn't called out to him, he might not have even realized he was there.
"Jim! There you are!" Toby exclaimed. "I tried swinging by this morning, but you weren't here."
"I try not to stay in one spot," Jim said, "-safer that way."
Toby's smile fell slightly. "Oh, right. Makes sense."
Something akin to guilt flashed across Jim's eyes, before he smiled awkwardly at him. Or maybe it was just his normal smile, and it just looked awkward thanks to the teeth. He really couldn't tell.
"Yeah, so I was thinking maybe we could think up a new meeting spot?" Jim suggested. "One where people might not be able to find us so easily? I mean, if you stumbled on me..."
"Yeah, good point." Toby said. "Hey, you could always come to my place."
"Your place." Jim repeated, his expression deadpan.
"Sure," Toby shrugged, "-my Nana's pretty much legally blind. I don't think she'd even notice the horns."
"Yeah, I'm going to have to pass on that one." Jim said. "Got any other ideas? You know Arcadia better than I do."
"Well I am something of a local expert." Toby said, thumbing the sleeves of his sweater vest. "C'mon. We can shop some ideas around."
"Actually," Jim began, casting a wary eye upwards, "-could we maybe do that part a little later? I'm not exactly great with the sun."
"Yeah?" Toby cast a brief glance upwards. "Like vampire rules or something? Wait, do you even know what a vampire is?"
"Sort of, and vaguely." Jim said. "It won't turn me to ash or anything, it's just... uncomfortable. Especially at this hour."
Toby nodded. Come to think of it, Jim had stuck to his little nook for the most of yesterday too, only really coming out once the sun had started to set. Guess the hood wasn't just for trying to hide the horns.
"Gotcha," he said, "-anything else I should know?"
"No, that's pretty much it." Jim said.
"Cool," Toby said, before taking his backpack off and sitting down in front of the cave, "-now onto the real order of business."
Unzipping his backpack, Toby dumped out the contents on the ground. He'd gotten chewed out for not remembering to bring anything else with him to school today, but seeing the way Jim perked up made stuffing his backpack with nothing but comics so totally worth it.
"Today, my friend," Toby began, making sure his tone was dramatic as possible, "-we begin your education."
"Actually one more question," Toby said halfway through one of the old Y-Force comics he'd brought, "-vampires aren't actually like, real, right?"
Jim just shrugged.
They did actually find time to relocate their meeting spot in between reading comics. The new spot was much more secluded, Toby assured him- far less chances of anyone stumbling across them unwittingly.
He also promised to come back tomorrow.
This time, Jim fully believed him.
Tomorrow turned into the next day, and before Jim knew it, a full week had passed and there were no signs of Toby ever breaking his promise. He spent nearly the entire weekend with him, talking, reading more comics, and watching the first Gun Robot movie on Toby's phone- the one he'd seen at the outdoor screening had apparently been the fourth in a franchise.
It was... fun. Really fun, actually. He couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed like this. Probably not since he'd gotten separated from his dad.
It almost made him feel human.
He'd never really connected with that part of his heritage before- never really had the chance. But with Toby around, it was easy to forget that he was part troll- at least, for a moment. Any fear that the human boy had once held for him had pretty much fallen to the wayside.
For once, he was actually enjoying himself.
It had never really hit him just how long he'd spent just surviving. It wasn't like his daily life was totally grim and joyless previously, but there was never anything to look forward to. He'd spent his days trying to stay out of sight, and running whenever anyone got too close of a look at him. In between that, finding food and places to sleep at night, there was just never much time for fun.
All of a sudden, he really didn't want to leave Arcadia. That was a dangerous thought. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that.
He decided to ignore it.
"What," Jim began, giving his backpack an incredulous look that Toby really didn't think it deserved, "-is in your backpack?"
"Uh, only the greatest tacos you've ever tasted." Toby said, triumphantly producing the bag from his backpack, only mildly concerned by the way its contents seemed to be leaking.
"Not exactly a hard contest, seeing as I've never had tacos before." Jim remarked.
"Never?" Toby gasped, aghast. "Well it's a good thing I blew my lunch money on these, then. You don't know what you've been missing out on. Here!"
Jim gave the proffered taco a skeptical look, reluctantly taking it from him. "I don't know, Toby. I can't really eat a lot of human foods."
"But that means you can eat some foods, right?" Toby countered. "Just give it a bite, dude. If it's not for you, don't sweat it. I can eat for two."
Jim faintly chuckled. "Somehow I don't doubt that."
"Nor should you." Toby said, already taking a bite of his own.
Oh yeah, this was so worth missing lunch for.
Jim gave his own taco a suspicious sniff, before taking a surprisingly dainty bite for someone with such big teeth. He chewed on it thoughtfully for a few seconds before blinking, cocking his head slightly.
"Huh," he sounded surprised, "-it's... actually edible. Weird."
"See, what did I tell you?" Toby beamed triumphantly as he watched Jim polish off the rest of the taco in a flash- including the wrapper it came in. "You want another? I bought us both two."
"Yeah, I'll take another." Jim said, holding out his hand.
He happily placed another taco in it, before finishing his own. "So if trolls don't eat human food, what do they eat? You know, aside from soda cans."
Jim hummed thoughtfully. "Pretty much whatever we can get our hands on. Dad always said socks were pretty popular. Oh, and cats."
"Wait, you guys eat cats?" Toby asked, squinting suspiciously at his new friend. "You haven't just been buttering me up all this time to get closer to Mister Meow-Meow PI, have you?"
"You named your cat Mister Meow-Meow PI?" Jim asked, arching a brow.
"Uh, no, Nana did." Toby said, before leaning closer to Jim, thoughtfully stroking a mustache he didn't have. "And I can't help but notice you didn't answer the question."
Swallowing the rest of his second taco, Jim held up his hands. "You caught me."
"Wow," Toby said, pretending to be shocked, "-and here I thought you were in this for my winning personality."
"That's just a bonus."
Toby chuckled, shoveling down his last taco. Ah, gone too soon. Next time he'd buy more. For them both, of course.
He heard the trolls long before he saw them.
At first, Jim thought they were just campers or something. It was a little late for people to be out, well past midnight according to the watch he'd scavenged from a dumpster three towns back, but it wasn't implausible. It wasn't until he actually caught sight of them that he realized they were trolls.
It was a pair of them- one with six eyes and four arms, the other that could only be described as a hulking brute covered in moss. Instantly, Jim froze, all but holding his breath as they passed underneath the tree he was hiding in. The four armed one didn't seem to notice him, continuing to speak to his companion, but the bigger one briefly paused, deeply inhaling.
The hairs on Jim's neck stood on end.
The other troll turned, seemingly noticing that his companion was no longer following behind. "Something wrong?"
The larger troll seemed to briefly consider it, before shaking his head. "Nothing. Blinky was saying?"
"Ah, yes-"
Jim watched warily as the pair of trolls faded into the distance. Only once they were well out of sight, did he allow himself to exhale, though he didn't relax just yet.
Okay. Guess there were trolls in Arcadia. That was something he'd have to keep in mind. Normally the sighting alone would have been enough for him to ditch the place for another town, but other towns didn't have Toby. Besides, he'd only been here for like, a month and a half. He could probably afford to stick around a little longer.
He'd just... have to be careful, that's all.
"So," Nana began, "-how is it going with that new friends of yours?"
In spite of himself, Toby nearly choked on his dinner, not expecting the sudden question. "Who, Jim? Great, it's going great."
"Oh, wonderful." Nana smiled. "I'm so pleased to hear that my sweet little Toby-Pie has finally made a friend. Will he be coming over anytime soon?"
"Uh..." Toby trailed off, "-I'm not so sure about that. He's... kind of shy?"
He winced internally. That was a terrible excuse.
"Oh, I see." Nana nodded, thankfully taking him at his word. "Well, that can't be helped."
It was kind of a bummer that he and Jim couldn't hang out at his place, though. There were so many cool things that he wanted to show him! They could play video games, and watch movies on a screen that was actually bigger than his hand. Maybe even have a slumber party or two!
(Actually, did trolls sleep? He should ask if trolls sleep.)
"By the way," Nana said awhile later, "-I've got some plans this Saturday afternoon. Will you be alright watching the house by yourself?"
...or maybe, he could invite Jim over.
"You know, my Nana's spending Saturday afternoon with her chess buddies."
Jim cocked his head in his direction. "Yeah?"
"So, if you want to come over and hang out..." Toby trailed off, already half anticipating the no. "I mean, you don't have to, but-"
"Okay."
Toby blinked, not quite sure he'd heard him right. "Wait, really?"
"Sure," Jim shrugged, "-I've kind of been wanting to see your place anyways."
"Seriously?" Toby asked. "That's great! But you're actually sure, right? You're not just saying yes because you don't want me to feel bad?"
Jim rolled his eyes. "I mean it, Tobes. I'd love to go over to your place."
"Tobes?" Toby blinked.
Jim suddenly seemed bashful. "Yeah, it's... you know, a nickname. I thought it would be nice, but if you don't like it..."
"Nope," Toby cut him off, "-nun-uh. I love it. I just gotta think of something to call you now. Gotta return the favor."
"Looking forward to it." Jim smiled.
"Great!" Toby beamed, before hastily adding, "-also, when you come over... please don't eat any of Nana's cats."
"I make no promises."
Jim did not, in fact, eat any of his Nana's cats.
Phew.
"Jimbo."
"What?" Jim asked.
"Your nickname." Toby replied. "Jimbo."
Jim frowned, and instantly, Toby's heart sank. Did he hate it? Oh no, he bet he hated it. Stupid, stupid Toby. Of course Jimbo was a stupid nickname, he should have-
"Jimbo," Jim repeated, "-I like it."
"Wait, you do?" Toby asked. "Like, really like it? You're not just saying that to spare my feelings?"
"I mean it, Tobes." Jim promised.
"Oh... well, in that case, awesome!" Toby beamed. "Anyways, apparently Nana's playing with her chess buddies again this Saturday. You wanna come over? I've got the newest Gun Robot!"
"I thought you said the newest Gun Robot was terrible?" Jim asked, arching a brow.
"No, I do." Toby said. "But it's terrible in a good way."
Jim just stared at him blankly. "...yeah, I don't get it."
"Don't worry, Jimbo," Toby assured him, "-you will."
"That was the worst movie I've ever seen."
"Yep." Toby agreed. "Though I'm pretty sure you've only seen like what, four movies?"
"Five," Jim corrected, "-but the point still stands."
There was a comfortable silence between them, broken up only by the sounds of the washer and dryer in the background. Jim shifted, casting a quick glance towards the window. There were no signs of Nana coming back anytime soon- in fact, she'd texted him that they were having an impromptu tournament, so she might be gone all afternoon. They had the whole house to themselves.
"So," Toby glanced over at his friend, "-you wanna watch it again?"
"Already pressed play."
"Well that's strange," Nana remarked, "-I could have sworn we had more laundry detergent than this."
Glancing into the container, Toby grimaced. Yep. Jim had definitely snacked on a few pods in between loads of laundry. Guess the forbidden snacks weren't so forbidden if you were a troll.
Also, was it weird that he was jealous? It was weird, right?
(He made a mental note to ask Jim how they'd tasted.)
"...you okay?"
"Gonna be honest, I've had better days." Toby admitted. "What gave it away?"
"You've got mud in your hair." Jim remarked, gesturing to the mud in question.
"Aw, man," Toby groaned, his hands flying up to his hair where he only managed to spread the mud more, "-it's still there? I thought I got it all out!"
"Here, let me." Jim said, grabbing a tissue from where he knew Toby kept them in his backpack in an attempt to work out the mud, mindful of his own thick nails. The last thing he wanted was for them to snag Toby's hair. Toby sat there patiently, but he couldn't help but notice the way he kept his eyes downcast.
"So... what happened?"
"Steve." Toby said glumly. "We had gym today, and I guess he thought it would be funny to shove me in a mud puddle."
Jim frowned. It wasn't exactly the first time Toby had brought up the guy, but it didn't make his blood boil any less. He was a real jerk from the sound of it, using the fact that he was bigger and stronger than the other kids in his class to make their lives miserable.
If he was being honest, he'd love to give him a piece of his mind.
(And by that, he meant his fist. Naturally.)
"The teacher didn't stop him?" Jim asked.
"He wasn't watching." Toby grumbled. "Steve just said I tripped, and his goon squad backed him up, so he believed him. I had to spend the rest of gym class with mud in my shorts."
"That sucks." Jim said. "Sorry, Tobes."
"Hey, it's not your fault." Toby shrugged. "Besides, one look at you and I'm pretty sure Steve would wet his pants."
That... stung a little, but he'd just keep that to himself. He was pretty sure Toby didn't mean anything by it- he was just angry and frustrated, that's all. Besides, he was probably right anyways. One look at him, and this Steve probably would wet himself.
Honestly, he'd probably deserve it too.
"Probably." Jim said. "I think I got most of the mud out, but you should probably wash your hair to be sure."
"Thanks, Jimbo." Toby smiled, before eying him suspiciously. "You're going to eat that tissue now, aren't you?"
"...it's a strong possibility."
"What's that?"
Peering out the window, Toby followed Jim's line of sight. "Huh, guess Doctor L is getting pizza again. You know, you'd think a doctor would eat healthier."
"No, I mean," Jim gestured to the red Vespa the delivery person was riding on, "-what's that they're riding on?"
"Oh that?" Toby said. "It's a motor scooter. A Vespa, to be exact. Why, you interested?"
"I- yeah, I guess." Jim said, making that much blatantly obvious by the way he was still staring at the thing.
"Yeah, it is pretty cool." Toby agreed. "You know, there's a Vespa store in town."
"Thanks, but I think I'll stick to the forests, Tobes." Jim said, his face falling slightly. "I kind of stick out."
"Oh," Toby frowned, "-right."
It was easy to forget sometimes that Jim did stick out. He guessed he'd just kind of gotten so used to how he looked, that it never seemed out of the ordinary anymore.
"Hey, maybe I could take some pictures for you." Toby offered. "Although I'd have to be careful about it. Wouldn't want the owner thinking I'm casing the place."
Jim snorted, his lips twitching into a smile. "Tobes, you're ten."
"Hey, no one said ten year olds can't be master criminals." Toby countered. "Maybe there's a whole side of me you don't know about."
"Weren't you the one who spent all day looking over his shoulder because the taco guy gave you five tacos instead of four?" Jim asked.
"...yeah, okay, that's fair." Toby admitted. "But did you want those pics or not?"
"Yeah, sounds great." Jim said, watching as the pizza delivery man drove away.
There was something... distant in his gaze, and Toby bit his lip, wondering if he should ask or not. Sure, they'd been friends for maybe three months at this point, but there was certain stuff that Jim didn't seem to want to talk about. What if this was one of them?
Still, he wouldn't be a very good friend if he at least didn't try...
"Are you... are you okay?" Toby chanced.
"Hm?" Jim glanced over towards him, before flashing a smile. "Yeah, just fine."
Toby frowned, not entirely convinced. He'd learned a thing or two about Jim's smiles these past few months, and that one looked awfully fake.
His doubt must have been obvious, because Jim's smile dropped, the troll awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just... I was thinking about what it might be like if I didn't look like this."
"What, like a troll?" Toby asked.
Come to think of it, he'd said something before about being only half-troll, hadn't he? He tried to remember what the other half was, belatedly realizing that he didn't actually know. He'd never actually told him.
Suddenly, it seemed way more relevant.
"I'm... actually part human." Jim admitted.
"Wait, really?" Toby asked, his eyes wide. "So wait, your parents-?"
"My mom was human, apparently." Jim shrugged. "Still not exactly sure how that works. Didn't quite get the rundown from my dad before..."
-before we got separated, Jim didn't have to finish. He'd already heard about what had happened with his dad. No need to make him repeat it, not when he was already telling him something else that was clearly personal.
Man, no wonder he'd always seemed kind of human. He actually was.
"Do you know her?" Toby asked. "Your mom, I mean."
"Dad never really talked about her." Jim shook his head. "He just said we had to leave for her protection, or something like that. Pretty dramatic stuff, right?"
"But she's still out there somewhere, right?" Toby asked. "Maybe you'll meet her one day."
"Yeah, maybe." Jim said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.
Yeah, it was pretty obvious this was a sensitive subject. He could sort of relate, except in his case, his parents were almost definitely gone. But Jim? There was a chance both his parents- or one of them, at least- were still out there somewhere. He always got the feeling that his reluctance to talk about his dad had something to do with that. Maybe he didn't want to jinx it?
Well in that case, he didn't want to jinx it either. Enough parent talk. It was boring anyways.
"And hey," Toby beamed, "-in the meantime, you've got me. Pretty sure best friends count as family, last I checked."
Jim perked up at that. "Wait, I'm your best friend?"
"Who else, dude?" Toby asked. "You're like the bestest, coolest half-troll friend a kid could ask for."
"I just thought..." Jim trailed off, before actually giving him a real smile this time. "You know what? You're my best friend too, Tobes."
"Phew," Toby mimicked wiping his brow, "-thank goodness. I didn't want to have worked on that acceptance speech for nothing."
Jim laughed, before leaning in a little closer. "So what's this video game you wanted to show me anyways?"
"Oh you're going to love it. It's called-"
"...dude, are you eating cat food?"
Jim flinched, slowly looking up at Toby. "...maybe?"
"Hey, no judgement there." Toby shrugged. "We've all been there."
That... didn't sound quite right, but frankly Jim didn't know enough about humans to dispute it.
"Hey there, Doctor L!"
Barbara Lake gave him a faint smile, shutting her car door behind her. She was probably just coming back from an overnight shift. She worked some pretty weird hours.
"Morning, Toby," she said, "-headed to school?"
"Yup," he said, "-so much easier now that Nana got me a new bike."
"Well try not to break it this time, kiddo." Barbara said. "I saw what happened to your last one."
"No promises, but I'll try." Toby said. "And if Mister Meow Meow PI wanders over to your place again, he's a liar whose already eaten all of his breakfast."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Barbara said. "You should probably get going if you don't want to be late."
"Yep, don't want that." Toby agreed. "Catch you later, Doctor L!"
"Oh, and tell Nancy I said thank you for the casserole!" Barbara called after him.
"Will do!" Toby waved back at her. "Just drop the dish at the usual place!"
He didn't hear her reply, already too far away. His mind was on other things anyways- chiefly, how hyped Jim would be when he showed him his new bike. It might not be a Vespa, but as far as bikes went, he thought it was pretty cool.
He just had to make sure Steve and his goons didn't break it first.
"Man, that rain came out of nowhere!"
"Tell me about it." Jim grumbled, catching the towel Toby tossed at him. "Good thing your place was close. You're sure your Nana is out?"
"Pretty sure." Toby said, toweling down his face and hair. "Phew, that's better. Now I just gotta get out of these wet clothes."
Jim faintly chuckled, doing his best to wipe his own hair down while not snagging the towel on his horns. It'd probably be just as easy to shake himself down, but something told him Toby wouldn't be thrilled about his kitchen being covered in water.
Toby eyed him, and for a brief second he almost thought it was with the suspicion that he'd do just that, before his gaze dropped down to his clothes instead. "Sorry. I'd offer you something to change into, but..."
"Yeah, we're not exactly the same size." Jim remarked.
His own clothes were soaked, but he'd dealt with worse before. He'd been able to scavenge a few new hoodies and a change of jeans since arriving in Arcadia, and hopefully those at least were still dry in the tree nook he stored them in during the day. If not, well... at least he had stone for skin.
"Tell me about it." Toby said, already squirming out of his sweater. "How big do you think you'll get anyways?"
"Not sure," Jim shrugged, draping the towel around his shoulders, "-dad said I already grow way quicker than any actual troll, but he never really-"
He cut himself short, his ears twitching as they picked up on a faint sound, nearly drowned out by the pounding rain outside. A second later, the kitchen door opened, and a bespectacled old woman entered that he recognized from the photos he'd shown him as Toby's nana.
Oh no.
"Toby-Pie, is that you? Do you need a- oh!"
Jim swore he could feel his heart beating a mile a minute, caught somewhere between wanting to bolt and being frozen to the spot. He hadn't even had time to throw up his hood, however much protection that would actually provide him this close. Any second now, she'd scream and-
"You brought your friend over! How nice."
"Uh..." Jim began, his eyes darting frantically between Toby and his nana.
"Yes!" Toby said, stepping in front of Jim. "Nana, this is my friend Jim. Jim, this is my Nana."
"...hi?" Jim said weakly, making sure the hand he awkwardly raised in greeting was the five fingered one. Did she really not-?
"Oh, it's so nice to finally meet you!" Toby's nana beamed, before glancing down at her grandson. "He's quite tall, isn't he?"
"He had an early growth spurt." Toby said, before grabbing his hand. "If you need us, we'll be in my room playing video games! Bye!"
In his stupor, he let Toby pull him along, only having the presence of mind to pull up his hood before he got too close to Toby's nana. He only realized he'd been holding his breath once he finally let it out, slumping to the floor as Toby closed the door to his room behind them.
That was way too close.
"See?" Toby said, giving him a nervous grin. "I told you she wouldn't notice anything."
"You were right." Jim admitted. "But uh... let's not do that again, maybe. I don't think it's good for my heart."
"Noted."
"Nana made some cookies for you."
"...you know I can't eat those, right?" Jim said.
"I know, but it felt rude to just eat them myself and not tell you." Toby said, taking a bite out of another one. "Brought you some old VHS tapes to make up for it, though."
Jim took the proffered tapes, arching a brow at the first one in the stack. "Moral Weapon Two? I think I'd rather take my chances with the cookies."
"Nope, too late." Toby said, turning so that the cookies were just out of reach. "No take backs."
Before he knew it, almost an entire year had gone by.
Honestly, he hadn't even noticed how much time had passed- not until he saw the first of the Christmas decorations around Arcadia. He'd arrived here sometime in late spring, fully intending to leave by the first signs of fall, if not sooner.
Then he just... hadn't.
He knew he probably should. It wasn't like him to stick around in one place for so long. He'd already had one close call with Toby's nana, and there was no telling when he might have another- not to mention another close call with the local troll population. There were definitely more of them around than just the two he'd seen that one time, but he'd stayed far enough away from them that he was confident they didn't know he existed.
Well, mostly confident.
What he should be doing was getting ready to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to. Every time he thought about leaving Toby, he just... couldn't. He never thought it would be this hard- though if he was being honest, it was more like he'd never thought about it in the first place. He'd been playing the past few months entirely by ear, without thinking at all about the future- which sure, was his usual method of dealing with things, but he'd never had a complication like this before.
Christmas. He'd leave after Christmas.
He didn't leave after Christmas.
He should have.
In the background, Jim could just faintly hear the sound of another firework shooting up into the sky. He didn't doubt the sight was pretty, but he didn't dare tear his eyes away from the one in front of him.
Not when it was staring back at him.
At them.
Behind him, he could feel Toby tremble, or maybe he was the one shaking. His heart was beating loudly enough that it could have been, drowning out the sound of the New Year's fireworks that he and Toby had snuck out here to watch. He'd found the perfect viewing spot, with no one else around...
...and he'd let his guard down.
He knew there were other trolls in Arcadia. He knew that. And yet he'd still allowed himself to be careless, and now he got the feeling that he wasn't going to be the only one to pay for it. He'd run into trolls before, sure, but none like this- pitch black save for eyes like molten lava, carrying twin swords that were almost as large as he was.
It smelled of blood, but trolls didn't bleed.
"What do we have here?" It spoke, its voice sending shivers down his spine and causing Toby to whimper. "A whelp and a fleshbag, far from home."
Danger, his mind screamed. Get away.
Toby.
Images of Toby's grandma abruptly flooded his mind, sitting all alone in a dark house. There was no one to welcome home from school anymore.
"Toby," his voice was so quiet, he could barely even hear it over the sound of the fireworks, "-run."