Four blue eyes met half a dozen brown ones as the teal troll staggered back in surprise upon seeing humans, earning himself a pained grunt from his brother.

Jim's eyes flashed from Blinky to the patches of unliving stone that dotted his brother's form as he took in the gashes and cuts littering the green troll. Eyes filling with concern, Jim rushed over to Blinky and Dictatious, trying to get a closer look at the wounds of the other troll.

Blinky flinched at the sudden action but did not move away, in fear that his brother might unfortunately crumble if he did. He kept his eyes trained onto the adult as he knew the young child posed little threat, yet the other only stood there, staring wide eyed at the trolls.

"Mom!" The child called out in worry, looking over to his mom, who's attention fell to her son by the feet of the trolls. "Mom I need you to go home and get the butane torch and aluminium foil!" The child commanded in a level tone, yet Blinky could see the tears in the boy's eyes.

With a stern nod from his mom, Barbara was off, running back home, being led by Gale so as to not lose her way.

Blinky's attention fell back towards his brother and the child who was attempting to help the injured troll up. "Can you walk?" The boy asked Dictatious, earning himself a small pained groan before Jim looked towards Blinky.

"We need to get him to my house, it's safe there." The boy said, starting to rummage around for the packet of cinnamon in his pocket before sprinkling some around them, effectively hiding their scent.

"We can not! Your mother already saw us, young one, she surely already called the trollhunter on us!" The teal troll argued, only to catch the boy's breathtaking blue eyes that burned bright with determination and worry.

"Mom isn't like that! We need to get him treated now!" The boy argued back, not a hint of deception in the boy's eyes. He didn't know why, but he trusted this human child, and for once in his life took a chance and followed the boy to his home as they took a less dense part of the trail.

The trolls and child continued on their trek towards the Lake House, ever only stopping for a second or two to make sure Dictatious was still living. Jim's thoughts raced as he continued to examine the injured troll, hoping that they had enough to at least close the larger wounds and stabilise him.

Soon, the fence was in view, Barbara pacing around waiting for them to arrive. The moment they had gotten through, the woman ran forward to help the injured troll lay down. She wasn't exactly sure how troll physiology worked, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from treating an injured patient! Troll or not, it was her job after all!

Jim ran over to the materials his mom had brought out before hurrying back over to the trolls before giving the torch to his mom. "Mom, can you hold the torch steady?" He asked, preparing to patch up the larger wounds on the green troll.

Holding up the torch, Barbara watched how her son swiftly and easily patched up the injuries and cracks with the metal. Blinky stood off to the side watching in amazement at how the humans managed to effectively perform troll first aid on his brother, but what truly amazed the troll was the unseen magic that flowed through the air.

Metals such as aluminium were able to patch up the wounds of a troll, that was true, but there was a component that actually allowed them to heal, and that component was magic. More specifically, geomancy. A magic mostly found within trolls that not even fully trained wizards are able to master to the degree that the child in front of him showed.

Blinky watched as the magic flowed from the boy to his brother, swirls of bright colors dancing around the boy's hands as he worked, a gentle mix of blue, green and gold only a troll's eyes could see.

A hiss of pain shook the scholar from his wonder, realising that the boy had accidentally hurt himself as he attempted to move the scorching metal into its rightful place.

"Jim!" His mom exclaimed, turning off the torch and placing it down to inspect her son's hands.

"I'm fine, mom. He's more important right now." The boy said, cradling his burned palm close to his chest, just as Blinky got closer.

"Perhaps I could help mold the metal?" He inquired, not wanting to cross any boundaries, yet the boy didn't hesitate as he nodded and got back to working. This time with Blinky's assistance, and soon enough, most of the larger wounds were welded shut, effectively stabilising the green troll.

A shaky, yet relieved sigh escaped the child, Barbara's shoulders loosening at the smile her son gave her, a sign that their impromptu troll saving operation was completed. They hadn't known how long they had stayed there on the ground in their backyard but they didn't care. They had saved a troll.

The group sat in silence, Barbara going over the events of that day, Blinky giving his brother silent prayers of recovery as Jim leaned on his once father figure in exhaustion, now regretting his decision of not sleeping the night before. The silent lull of sleep pulling the boy ever deeper into the darkness as heavy eyes fell, feeling a sense of safety being so close to the troll he had once called his father.

The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself encased in darkness, the comfortable feeling of secure arms wrapped around his small form. With a bit of squirming, he managed to free his arms to touch what held him in place, feeling the familiar texture of living stone; tough yet yielding in some places like hardening clay.

"Are you awake, young one?" The soft voice of the troll asked in a quiet whisper, causing the small boy to look up into six magnificent brown eyes filled with the tenderness of a parent.

Jim couldn't help but gasp slightly, seeing his father once again in front of him. Safe. Alive. Forcing himself not to cry, Jim only nodded with a small sound of affirmation as he forced his eyes away to look around himself, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the basement only illuminated by the small fire of the furnace.

"How is your brother?" Jim finally asked after a moment, managing to get away from the troll's hold, only now noting his own injured and wrapped hand.

"He is resting as of right now..." Blinky replied as he gestured to the sleeping form of his brother besides him, watching the small boy get up and stretch, letting out a yawn. "You've been asleep for quite a while yourself, your mother has gone to work."

At that statement, Jim looked over to Blinky in confusion. "What time is it?" He asked weakly, knowing that his mother had work on Saturday from three in the afternoon till nine at night.

"I believe it is just a little past four."

"Four?!" Jim exclaimed loud enough to stir the sleeping troll besides Blinky, the scholar hushing the boy, not wanting his brother to awoken. The shushing quickly made Jim cover his mouth, eyes wide as he watched the green troll turn to his side before continuing to sleep.

For a moment, nobody moved as they watched Dictatious continue to doze off. After determining that it was safe to move, Jim went over to Blinky and proceeded to sit in front of the troll cross-legged on the ground.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" He asked in a whisper with a frown looking up to his once mentor, who only gave a slight chuckle before giving the boy a gentle pat on the head.

"Your mother had told me about how you needed your sleep…" he said before a smile formed on his features. "And I did not have the heart to wake you up, child."

For a brief moment, Jim stared up at the troll, observing everything he could with his human vision, only now noticing the large leather-bound book the troll held in his hands.

"Jim" the boy said after a while. "My name is Jim" he elaborated with a smile, earning himself one back from the troll.

"And I am known as Blinkous! But you may call me Blinky." the blue troll said before making a gesture towards the unconscious troll beside him. "And he is Dictatious, my older brother, who I am very thankful for your help keeping alive… I do not know if he would still be here if you and your mother had not come to help…"

Jim only gave a small smile towards Blinky. "Me and mom want to help the trolls!" he exclaimed quietly, watching the look of surprise on the troll's face turn into that of deep thought.

Humming to himself, Blinky gently rubbed his chin with one hand while the other three crossed across his chest entering a deep state of thought before he started to mumble to himself quietly, the child in front of him doing his best to try and decipher what the blue troll was mumbling, before suddenly a thought occurred to Blinky, like a lightbulb lighting up in his mind.

"You know, Jim." he started, patting one of his stony legs, beckoning the child to come closer, a command that Jim followed without hesitation. "You are a very special human… So, how about I tell you a trollish tale?"

"A story?" Jim asked, hoping he sounded excited, remembering how Blinky's lectures had been in his old timeline.

"Yes, a story." the troll chuckled, wrapping two of his arms around the boy, before opening up the book he was holding. Jim curiously looked and scanned the pages of the book as best he could in the darkness, catching sight of the images and trollish writing.

"What is it about?" The boy found himself asking out of genuine curiosity, not remembering ever seeing such a book before within Blinky's library in the old timeline.

"It's a story of a brave warrior that will one day come to save the trolls, would you like to listen?" the troll asked, gently positioning himself so that the boy could see the illustrations on the book more clearly under the dim orange glow of the furnace.

"Yes!" Jim exclaimed in quiet curiosity, carefully minding his volume for the sleeping troll beside them, earning himself a chuckle from the one holding him.

"Well then, let us start at the beginning shall we?" Blinky started, clearing his throat as his hands flipped the pages so that they were at the beginning, showing Jim the image of a large black troll, behind him stood another, more familiar dark troll, shapes and figures some in red sprawled across the ground in front of them, while others brandished a weapon of sorts against the beasts.

"Long ago, trolls and humans had never gotten along. Many trolls hunted down humans for sustenance while humans hunted down the trolls to keep their homes safe, and in the forefront of it all was the dark king, Orlagk the Oppressor." the troll historian started, flipping the page to show an abridged drawing of Gunmar's fight against Orlagk.

"One day, Orlagk's general, Gunmar the Skullcrusher, bested him in a battle, effectively taking over the throne from the warlord. It was a rather unexpected turn of events, but it wasn't an unheard of thing.'' The next page was an image of Gunmar, in his arms a small bundle of cloths, and inside lay an infant of a troll reminiscent to the fearsome Gumm-Gumm prince.

"But then, one day, Gunmar was blessed by the heartstone with a son, Bular." Blinky said with a small smile, as he pointed to the small troll, watching the shocked face the boy in his arms made.

"Bular?" he asked, looking up at blinky and pointing to the image in the book. "That's Bular?"

A light chuckle escaped the blue troll as he gently petted the top of the boy's head. "Yes, young Jim. Even trolls start off as little whelps such as yourself, even the Gumm-Gumm Prince himself."

Jim couldn't help but gape at the thought that once upon a time, Bular, too, was nothing more than an innocent baby, being cradled in the arms of his father. At the thought, Jim smiled before unconsciously snuggling up against Blinky.

An action that made the troll slightly stiffen, not wanting to start seeing the boy as his own whelp. He had, after all, been described as someone who easily could get attached to people, the boy being a child and not understanding the small actions he made, not helping his parental instincts in the slightest.

There was a time when Blinky would not care in the slightest for other people, especially not children. But, there came a day, a long time ago, when he had met someone that had opened his heart to the point where he now actively seeks to do everything he could to keep the children safe.

"Not long after Bular was born," the troll continued, flipping to the next page, where an image of Gunmar and a human king stood in front of each other, seemingly shaking hands. "Gunmar's mate, was felled in battle. And in fear of the same fate happening to his son, Gunmar made a decision. And thus the pact was formed between the trolls and the humans."

Jim listened intently, watching as Blinky turned the page again, but this time, the image was that of Arthur, holding up Excalibur. "Peace was short-lived however, when Arthur took up the throne."

The page after that was of Arthur, hunched over and mourning the loss of his wife, her crown in his hand as rage filled his features. "One day, the Queen, Guinevere, had stumbled across the nest of a very territorial stalkling; a troll that fears not the sun and hunts its prey till death, they are as uncontrollable as they are unpredictable. At the loss of his beloved, Arthur grew mad as fear took root within the human kingdom, forcing his hand against all magic kind."

Another flip of the pages revealed Merlin, Morgana, Gunmar, and Vendel seeming to be in some sort of discussion. "Fearing a war, the great wizard, Merlin Ambrosious, and his apprentice, Morgana Pendragon, visited Gunmar with his worries, proposing that a warrior be made to keep the peace as a symbol for both human and troll kind."

The next image was a vivid depiction of some sort of battle happening within Camelot, a group of magical creatures running away from the kingdom. "We do not know what had happened after Merlin offered the idea to his king, but a battle occurred that forced out all magical creatures within the walls of the mighty kingdom, driving everything into chaos."

"But from that chaos," Blinky continued, flipping the page to show the silhouette of a troll in front of a gathered crowd. "hope was born in the form of a young troll's dream. He pleaded for us to take a stand, to defend ourselves. He warned us of a warrior unlike any other; the trollhunter, a warrior that could wield daylight even in the dead of night."

The troll let out a small and tired chuckle as he flipped onto the next page. "Of course, nobody believed him. After all, how could a human wield daylight? Let alone at night?" Blinky continued, showing Jim a page where a figure in a suit of silvery armour was surrounded by blazing fire and stone statues of once living trolls. "And that, was our greatest mistake…"

The next page was a depiction of four trolls of different kinds, one green like the trees, one as blue as the sky, one a deep blue like the depths of the ocean, and one black as night, all standing together against the trollhunter. "But four great trolls stood up against the new threat. The prince of trolls, Bular the "Butcher", a brave sentry, Draal the "Deadly", a camelot escapee, Deya the "Distinctive", and the dreamer who we called "Hunter"." the scholar said, pointing to each character in the image.

"Hunter?" Jim asked, curiosity in his eyes as he stared at the image of the troll he had never met or heard of before.

An affirmative hum escaped Blinky as he flipped onto the next page to show an activated killahead bridge, the aforementioned trolls holding onto each other, while other trolls got sucked right into the Darklands. "During the fight of killahead, many of the trolls fell and many more were lost to the darklands. And we would have also lost a lot more if it weren't for Hunter's mighty strength. But the loss of Gunmar, forced us to retreat back to the safety of Dwoza where we would have been safe."

The page after that showed the state of which Dwoza was after their loss, dull and littered with injured and weakened trolls. Yet on the adjacent page was a depiction of Hunter on top of a ledge, radiating a bright glowing light. "However, when the rest of us had arrived in Dwoza, we found our heartstone's light dimming. Many of us would not survive daybreak due to our injuries as there was not enough energy for our heartstone to heal us. And with our unsalvageable bond between the humans, the heartstone's magic grew weaker with distrust. Yet that did not despair Hunter. No, instead, he found and held on to hope and inspired us all."

The following page held multiple illustrations and small depictions of events and items around Hunter, like a halo. "He told us of a time, a time when humans ruled the surface, a time when trolls would be hunted down by armies led by the trollhunter. But he also told us, that one day, we would travel to a new heartstone located here in Arcadia and that the time of peace between our species would come near. And when that time comes, two hunters will unite us."

Turning to the final page of the book, Jim couldn't help but stare at the final image set in front of him. It was a vague, yet beautifully drawn image of Hunter, his entire being shrouded with a beautiful mix of gold, blue and green, in his offering hands, a small orange crystal pendant. ""And when the day comes, a warrior will appear from when then no longer exists, offer him this pendant and you will know." He had said before vanishing within the swirl of his magic."

Jim continued to stare at the image in the book, his small bandaged hand brushing over the worn page. It had been a prophecy, a prophecy of himself and he knew it, deep down he knew he was the one the trolls have been waiting for. And that was when he knew for certain that he could no longer stand idly by- he had to fight for them.

"Retelling that old ludicrous story, brother?" Dictatious's voice sounded out, a pained grunt exiting the green troll as he sat up to face Jim and Blinky. Stiffening at the sight of the human child, six brown eyes widened in a panic. "A fleshbag child?! Are you mad?!" He yelled, pointing a finger at Jim who was still being cradled by his old mentor.

"First off, it is not a ludicrous story, it is a prophecy! And secondly, if it weren't for this human child and his mother you would have crumbled into unliving stone come daybreak!" Blinky retorted with a huff as he closed the book in his hand, gently letting the boy get off of him.

Jim frowned slightly at the loss of his father's contact but got up, dusting himself off and walking over to the scared troll and offering his hand for a handshake. "My name's Jim." he said, a small smile on the 8 year old's face.

Dictatious eyed the boy carefully, untrusting of the human before looking over to Blinky. Making the boy frown once again at being ignored. "Where are we, Blinkous?" He asked, looking around slowly.

"We are in the boy's home. You should be more considerate to our host!" The teal troll scolded, getting up to stand by the boy, two of his stony hands finding a perch on his shoulders.

"It's okay, he's just scared." Jim defended looking up to his father figure, forcing a smile to his face. "I'll go get something for us to eat!" The boy said before rushing off to the top of the basement stairs.

With a shaky breath, Jim headed over to the kitchen, digging around for anything he could to feed the two trolls in his basement while also making something for himself to eat before smacking his forehead, remembering that he hadn't made anything for his mom that day.

A sigh escaped the boy as he stared outside the kitchen window, up at the slowly lowering sun. It was only an hour or so until sunset. Until Blinky and Dictatious would leave for trollmarket…

Thoughts of his old Blinky crossed his mind, the hours they would spend in each other's company, either training, reading books or learning how to cook. He reminded himself of the good times, of his surrogate father's smile as he proceeded to make something for all of them to eat.

It wasn't long until his thoughts turned dark. To their final fight together.

To his failure.

His heart felt heavy, remembering the broken unliving stone that littered the ground, merely rubble to untrained eyes.

A heavy yet firm hand placed itself on the boy's shaky hands, forcing his hands to stop cutting the tomato, his gaze raising up to meet concerned brown eyes on a familiar blue face. "I don't think you should be using a knife in your state… let me help, it shouldn't be as hard as troll food should it?" he offered, gesturing to the shaking hand that held the tomato he was about to cut, one of his stony blue hands coming up to wipe away Jim's now free flowing tears.

Sniffling, the boy let go of the knife and hugged Blinky as tight as he could, allowing his whole body to shake with sobs and whimpers. The troll had heard the faint sounds of crying coming from above them and had gone to investigate, hoping that whatever Jim was doing that he was safe, only to find the boy absently cutting a tomato with shaky hands and failed attempts to hide his sobs.

Taking a deep breath, the troll knelt down, holding the boy in a four armed hug with one hand running his hand through the boy's hair in an attempt to sooth him. He didn't know why the boy was crying, there didn't seem to be any new injuries from the blade, was it his burns? Then again he didn't seem phased by them.

"Please don't leave me again…" Jim whispered softly into the crook of the troll's stony shoulder. It was a simple request, one Blinky knew he couldn't do. Yet he could hear the fear, the anguish in the young boy's voice. This human boy who he had never met before, held onto him like a lifeline, an anchor to some kind of reality he so desperately tried to hold together.

"From when then no longer exists." Slowly, Blinky pulled away from the hug, making sure to have a firm hand on the boy's shoulder as he fumbled around in his pockets, cursing at his habit of being so unorganised before pulling out a small leather bound pouch and placing it in the boy's small hands.

At his questioning gaze, the troll gave the boy a gentle smile, holding Jim's hands in his own, making sure that he held the pouch. "While I can not stay… may this small gift be a promise to you, Jim." The troll started, looking over to the basement door where Dictatious now stood, silently watching the duo. "I promise, I will come visit whenever I am able."

Jim stared up at his once father figure, a small yet sad smile on his face as he wiped away the remaining tears that threatened to fall with the hem of his sleeve. A firm nod and a determined look in the boy's eyes solidified their promise.

An exasperated sigh escaped the green troll as he rolled his many eyes. "Blinkous… do not tell me you got attached to the fleshbag?" Dictatious growled out in trollish, his arms crossed as he leaned against the frame of the door for support.

Jim could only smile at the reply his father figure said back to his brother. " He is special, I know it." With reluctance from Dictatious, they had a small dinner, the trolls getting to know the boy a little more before they had to leave.

As Jim watched the two leave through the forest, he looked down at the pouch he was given. Sitting down by the boulders in his backyard, he opened it, revealing a beautifully glowing orange crystal pendant reminiscent to the heartstone, a soft humming calling out to him as he put it on.

And for once since coming here, he felt at peace.


A/N: Hooo boi
It was hard to tell a story within a story, especially a picture book, but it was well worth it!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!