T3ddyBearL0ve-Thank you so much! Your enthusiasm gives me life! Nomura and Jim's relationship is just so good! And I LOVE Troll Jim whining, growling, purring…basically everything he does lol. (There might be purring later on *wink wink*)

borninnovember-Fellow brain cell, I missed you! Thank you, writing Nomura was so much fun! I love her sm. And hm…I could see her drinking wine with Strickler, talking crap about Bular lol.

"Hey."

Claire's eyes snapped open. She shot up and opened her mouth to scream-

A clawed, pink hand curled around her mouth. "Shh," Nomura whispered. "It's just me. Come with me. I don't want to wake the others."

The hand released, and Claire gasped. She blinked rapidly in the bright sunlight. It was going to take her a while to get used to this new sleep schedule. She looked around for Nomura, and found the changeling standing off to the side, tapping her foot impatiently.

Claire rolled her eyes and started to get up, but a tug held her back. She glanced down and smiled. Jim had fallen asleep next to her with his arm wrapped around her waist. She tried to stand up again to no avail. Gently, as to not wake him, she slowly pried his hand off her waist and placed it on the forest floor. He mumbled something and curled more tightly on himself.

She tucked a strand of hair behind his pointed ear and lightly kissed him on the cheek. He might not believe her, but Claire really did think he looked cute as a troll. Handsome, in fact.

Nomura clearing her throat brought her back to reality. Claire arose and precariously navigated her way around the sleeping forms of the trolls. They had found a particularly large, shady grove to stay for the day. The sun's rays didn't even penetrate through the trees. Still, it was a lot brighter than what Claire was used to at this point.

"Finally," Nomura grunted as Claire reached her. "I hate it when you humans face-mash. Come on."

"You're telling me you never wanted to 'face-mash' Draal?" Claire teased as she trotted to keep up with Nomura.

"No, I haven't. It's disgusting. I've never wanted to kiss that large, handsome, strong…" she cleared her throat, and Claire smiled smugly. "Never mind. Here's good."

She turned around. Claire panted as she wiped her forehead. Wow. She really missed her shadow staff. "Why-why did you bring me out here, Nomura?" she huffed.

"It's about Jim."

The last of her tiredness disappeared, and Claire straightened. "What? Is something wrong?" Well, Claire knew something was up with her boyfriend, but Nomura didn't. Maybe it was something more serious?

"Don't worry, it's nothing you probably don't already know," Nomura dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I've been keeping an eye on the Trollhunter since we've departed. Per Stricklander's request."

Claire blinked. "Strickler? Why?"

"He's worried about him," Nomura sighed as she leaned against a tree. "Not as much as he was when Jim first turned into a troll, but he's still concerned. Since he couldn't watch over Jim himself, he asked me to. And what I've noticed is…troubling, for lack of a better word.

"Little Gynt is scared of his troll nature. His human half is appalled at what his troll side wants to do, what it is. He doesn't want to lose hold of his humanity; he wants to keep his troll side in check. And that's not healthy."

Oh. Claire thought he was scared of hurting her…or maybe, he was scared of his troll half harming her. That made a lot more sense. "I get it. We need to help Jim accept himself! What can I do to help?" she asked eagerly.

"You don't."

Claire's face fell. "Why not? He's my boyfriend! You can't just expect me to-"

"Sorry, that's-that's not what I meant." Nomura dragged a hand down her face. "I've already talked to Little Gynt about this, and I offered my help. He hasn't exactly accepted me offer, but he's definitely considering it. But I don't think you should encourage him to do it. He needs to make the choice on his own. And…there's a chance he would feel ashamed and bury his troll side even deeper."

"So, what, you don't want me to do anything? I don't think I can do that. He needs me."

"Yes, he does," Nomura answered, smiling softly. "And there is a way you can help, Claire. All I'm asking is that you don't confront Jim on what's troubling him. You leave that to me. What you can do, though, is treat him normally."

Claire frowned. "I already do that."

"No, I mean if he does anything trollish-growling, eating unusual foods, roaring-don't draw attention to it. Don't give him any weird, or even proud, looks. Don't talk about it. Just be there for him, alright?"

"Don't worry. I wouldn't leave him for the world." She drew her first two fingers across her lips. "My lips are sealed."

.

.

.

The next few days passed by relatively peacefully. Sure, the occasional troll would wander off, so they'd have to stop the party and locate the missing troll. There'd be a few fist fights. But there were no golems, no other unexpected enemies. And since trolls rarely needed to sleep, they had been walking for three days straight. So, Jim had a lot of time to think about Nomura's offer.

He wanted to learn about his troll side, he really did, but he was scared of what he might find. Merlin had said he wouldn't become a monster, but that didn't stop Jim from thinking of that thing from the Deep. What if delving into his troll nature unleashed something horrible inside him?

But…it was still tempting. During the battle of the Eternal Night, Jim had felt so-so exhilarated. Like he was completely unstoppable. And he knew he hadn't restrained his troll side then. He wanted that feeling of freedom again. He wanted to be able to be a troll without being afraid of himself. And if Nomura could help with that, well…

Maybe he should give it a shot.

When the party stopped for a short break, Jim bashfully walked up to Nomura. She was sharpening her scimitars on a rock, a good distance away from the other trolls. He cleared his throat to get her attention. "So, uh, Nomura," he began, as she stared up at him, "what we walked about a few days ago…is that offer still standing?"

The changeling flashed her fangs. "Of course."

Ah, sorry this was a little late! I got caught up writing another fanfiction I'm planning to release soon. (I'm so excited for that one; I think you guys will love it!) Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!