It's been hours, and the Trollhunter is yet to stir.

His mother, Angor had observed, seemed reasonably upset. With her being a healer, she was likely used to seeing people in such weakened states and having to remain calm.

But with this being her son, anyone could understand the distress in this case.

She'd stayed by his side for many of those long hours, along with visits from the other Trollhunters, as well as Strickler here and there. For now, she's gone into the kitchen with the others, Angor Rot being left alone with the boy for the time being. Dictatious's brother had seemed skeptical of that at first, as Angor could occasionally catch glimpses of the Conundrum peeking at him through the doorway, but it became less frequent as time passed.

Angor didn't bother moving. He'd stationed himself in a chair by Jim's couch and kept to himself, keeping an eye on Jim while he carved his totems. He saw no point in joining the others - from the occasional mumblings he could make out, they were mostly just asking questions and comforting each other. They did so away from the boy as to let him slumber as peacefully as possible, Angor guessed.

So, in the living room he stayed.

Jim had hardly moved the whole time. Angor found himself having to watch carefully sometimes just to make sure he was still breathing. But at least the screaming and flashes of blue light had stopped.

He wasn't sure why he cared so much about what had happened…

Or, well, maybe he was. He's let too many allies - friends - die in front of him already. Angor wasn't ready to let that cycle start again.

… He also wasn't sure if he was ready to start calling these people friends… but…

Angor's attention pulled to the doorway when Merlin walked inside. The wizard had been in and out several times, not-so-patiently checking each time to see if the Trollhunter was conscious yet.

"He's still not woken?" Merlin sighed in annoyance, stepping into the living room. "It's vital that this phenomenon be examined."

"He is resting." Angor said simply, not looking up from his carving work.

Merlin scoffed. "There is no time for that."

It was when the wizard made a move towards the Trollhunter that Angor Rot suddenly stood, immediately getting between Merlin and the couch where Jim lay.

"He. Is. Resting." Angor growled again, looming over Merlin with his harsh, golden eye glaring into the wizard's.

"Stand aside, assassin. I need to-"

A deep, resonating growl from the larger and far more threatening magic-user managed to shut Merlin up, even if only for a second or two.

"Just because we have an agreement, wizard, you do not have free reign to make demands of me." Angor snarled at him, standing his ground firmly. "Leave the child be."

Merlin gritted his teeth, obviously annoyed… but Angor Rot wasn't a troll to be trifled with. "You don't understand the serious negative implications this transformation could have. I need to examine him."

Angor's snarling grew deeper and more hostile, and Merlin took a step back out of caution. "What I understand isthat the Trollhunter has just gone through physical trauma. What he needs is time to recover." AngorRot persisted, his cold eye narrowing at the wizard. "Listen closely, because I will only say this once. You will not be looking him over until he is awake and has given you his express consent to do so." He took a step forward, forcing Merlin to take one back. "Are you capable of understanding this simple courtesy, or do I need to make myself clearer?"

With that underlying threat, Merlin finally had the sense to back off. Angor kept his harsh stare on Merlin until he disappeared into the next room, and only then did the troll sit back down. It was only then that he also noticed Dictatious had been standing next to the doorway Merlin had just gone through to join the others in the kitchen,

The Conundrum stared curiously at Angor, presumably having heard the latter end of his and Merlin's interaction, but Angor didn't acknowledge him at all, picking away at his totem instead.

"… What was that about an 'agreement'?" Dictatious asked, still suspicious of whatever Merlin's been doing with him.

"That is between Merlin and I." Angor's voice towards Dictatious was especially cold. "I've already told you not to ask."

It's been some time since Angor saw genuine fear of him in Dictatious's eyes. Perhaps his tone was too harsh, but he was still annoyed with the Conundrum for earlier.

Despite the tension and Dictatious's hesitance, he eventually came closer and took a seat in the chair across from Angor.

There was a long stretch of silence before Dictatious brought himself to ask, "How is the child doing?"

Angor didn't look up from his carving. "He is breathing."

The curt response wasn't particularly unexpected. Nodding slowly, Dictatious went on, "Well, that's… better than not breathing…"

When he heard Angor quietly scoff, Dictatious realized that may not have been the best choice of words, considering their last 'conversation'…

More silence passed. Jim shifted slightly, drawing both trolls' eyes, but he didn't wake.

"… You've been with him since it happened?" Dictatious asked, quieting his voice. Angor couldn't tell if that was to not disturb the child, or if it was out of discomfort in speaking to him. Possibly both.

"Obviously." Angor replied. He cast a narrow-eyed glance at Dictatious once again. "You may find me incompetent at keeping myself alive, but I know better than to abandon injured children."

That got a slight wince out of Dictatious. Again, Angor couldn't tell its source. He highly doubted that Dictatious already felt guilty about the things he'd said.

The way the smaller troll was fidgeting though, heavy contemplation about something obviously on his mind, Angor could tell this conversation wasn't finished. Normally he would've waited to let Dictatious's words come naturally to him. But he didn't have the patience this time.

Putting down his carving materials, Angor shot a cold stare directly through Dictatious. Though the Conundrum couldn't see it, it somehow chilled him all the same.

"If you have something to say, Dictatious, then say it already."

Angor Rot knew better than to expect an apology. He's already observed that Dictatious is horrible at that. But whatever… this is, Angor wasn't keen on letting it drag out. He wasn't sure where this 'change of heart' was coming from, or if the Conundrum was just trying to make things 'blow over' so they could both move on from it, but he was getting very tired of Dictatious's inconsistencies in temperament.

Perhaps Angor was just shorter on patience due to the current situation at hand. Still.

Dictatious stared in his direction with a conflicted look on his face, then averted his gaze, saying nothing.

Angor snorted, picking his tools back up. "It's bad enough that I let this happen already." He said, clearly referring to Jim. "I don't need your judgment on top of that."

"… 'Let this happen'?" Dictatious hesitantly repeated, squinting slightly out of confusion. "I don't follow."

His knife grated harshly against his half-finished totem, leaving too deep a groove. An irate growl rumbled in Angor's throat, but it eventually turned into a low sigh. "… He was with me when he got hurt." He replied, slowing down his work to more carefully fix the mistake he had made.

"Yes…" Frowning slightly, Dictatious further asked, "What's your point?"

Angor didn't reply that time. Dictatious slowly blinked as he tried very hard to follow Angor's logic.

Is he… is he actually blaming himself for something so out of his control like this? Was this something that Angor, for some reason in that cracked brain of his, thought he should've been able to magically prevent somehow? Seriously?

Casually leaning back in his seat, Dictatious hummed in thought for a moment, then said, "Well, it's a good thing you were there, that's for sure."

Angor Rot gave him a confused look. Dictatious had shrugged almost as if in response to it, glancing towards the blur that was Jim. "I mean, just imagine if he was alone when this happened." His glance went back to Angor, one brow slightly raised. "Would probably still be out there, suffering, if that were the case. Wouldn't you think?"

That's Dictatious's polite way of saying 'You helped him, you absolute moron, this is obviously not your fault'.

The silence that followed from Angor's end wasn't unexpected. Dictatious at least hoped he'd see how painfully obvious it was that he wasn't to blame for this rather than continuing to be a self-blaming ball of idiocy.

Dictatious's entire demeanour had just taken a drastic shift, gone from tense and cautious to treating Angor as casually as any regular day, and it caught the larger troll off guard. His own hostility from before seemed to be ebbing away, even if it was only slightly. It was enough so that Angor Rot could appreciate the Conundrum's words. He did raise a fair point, one that the assassin had been ignoring. Though he was still too annoyed with Dictatious to admit that out loud - this changing of the topic doesn't change Angor's irritation with him.

Both trolls were distracted again by the human Trollhunter slowly tossing and turning on the couch, Jim making small groaning noises.

Angor's position shifted to better face the boy. "Trollhunter?"

No reply at first. The trolls figured he may still be unconscious.

Then, a noise. An unintelligible mumble of a sentence, but it was definitely meant as a reply of some kind.

"I… do not know what you're saying."

Without opening his eyes, Jim repeated himself just a little more clearly. "Mhh… Yuh broke th'streak…"

Angor Rot shared a confused look with Dictatious. The Conundrum just shrugged unknowingly, so Angor looked back to Jim, frowning. "I don't understand."

"The streak…" Jim lazily repeated. "You called me 'Jim' twice last time… Now y've gone an' broke the streak…"

… Again, Angor found himself questioning how the Trollhunter arranges his priorities…

After a quiet sigh, Angor Rot stood. "I will be back." He glanced at Dictatious. "Make sure the Trollhunter doesn't get up."

"From the sounds of him, that shouldn't be too difficult." Dictatious joshed as Angor headed to the kitchen.

.

"I'm sure he'll be alright, Barbara." Strickler said softly, watching in concern as his partner paced across the kitchen over and over again. "He just needs rest."

"Yeah, that and the ten years of therapy he's due for." Toby chimed in, poking wildly at his phone. "Careful, Claire! You almost missed the Golden Hamachi!"

"Lies. Slander. Never missed a sushi in my life." Claire responded, her voice monotone, but a small smirk on her face when she said it. "And let's be real, ten years is not gonna cut it."

Claire wasn't as good at this game as Aaarrrgghh, but he simply couldn't operate the mobile version, so he just hunkered down and watched the children play. Despite Strickler's constant reassurances that he's going to live just fine, they'd all been stressing pretty hard about Jim, Toby especially having a hard time calming down. Being the good friend she is, Claire offered to play a few rounds of Go Go Sushi 2: Wasabi Revenge with him to help calm his nerves. Admittedly, it was helping distract her from the stress too, even if only slightly.

In between the repeating sounds of an opening-and-closing fridge door, Merlin scoffed at them all. "What the Trollhunter needs is for someone proficient in magic to check on this… new state."

"Such as yourself, hmm?" Blinky barked back at him, suspiciously narrowing his eyes. "You certainly have ample experience in altering people."

"Well, I would check on the child," Merlin said, completely ignoring Blinky's negative implications, "but apparently, that guard dog of his doesn't like that idea."

Just for a second, Strickler's eyes shifted from Barbara to Merlin, a more annoyed glare directed at the wizard. "Don't call Angor a dog."

Unsurprisingly, Merlin only rolled his eyes. Strickler returned his attention to his pacing partner. "Barbara…?"

Barbara still paced. She didn't say anything.

That was fair. She'd already had enough on her plate what with the infamous James's return, but now her son's hurt too. Again. Everyone could forgive her not being in a talking mood…

But her attention immediately turned to the door when Angor Rot opened it.

"He is awake." The assassin informed them all.

Barbara was the first to rush out of the kitchen, closely followed by Toby and Claire, the two dropping their phones immediately to check on their friend.

Angor had stood aside so the others could pass, and to Strickler's surprise, his former victim didn't glare at him as he passed. Instead, Angor's skeptical stare found its focus on Merlin. The wizard, of course, ignored his distrusting look, but he didn't test the waters by getting too close to Jim. He had the common sense to know there would be bad reactions all around to that.

Jim's family tried not to crowd him. Barbara came the closest, sitting on the couch next to her son and hesitantly putting a hand on his arm. "Jim, honey…? How are you feeling?" She said softly.

Jim mumbled under his breath, then spoke a little louder and said, "Like I was hit by a bus."

A small laugh came from his mother, a laugh born from relief. Jim was honestly still confused as to what happened. He didn't really remember much… The boy groaned, pushing himself up to a sitting position and rubbing his head. It took him several seconds for his vision to adjust to the room, seeing all the concerned faces looking at him.

"Uh… what happened?" Jim asked. But before any could answer, he'd lowered his hand from his head to see a distinctly human appendage, going bug-eyed at the sight and gasping in shock. "… What." He pulled the blankets off of himself, patted himself down, looking at his arms, his familiarly skinny legs, feeling his face and nose. "WHAT."

He tried to get up, but Toby swooped in immediately when his friend just about lost his balance. "Easy there, Jimbo," He said, cracking a hesitant half-smile, but mostly just concerned for his dazed friend. "You still kinda look like crap, no offense…"

"Seriously… what happened." Jim asked again, supporting himself on Toby as he continued to look himself over. He looked to Merlin next. "You… You said it was impossible to turn back."

"It should have been impossible." Merlin scoffed, crossing his arms. He looked very annoyed by the situation.

Jim was too full of wonder and confusion to be affected by any negative emotions in that moment. "This is… so weird." He muttered, awestruck.

"I mean hey, we all thought reviving Heartstones and familiar-free Changeling transformations were impossible too, but we keep getting proven wrong." Claire pointed out. She helped steady Jim as he stood with her and Toby's support, and he finally got a good eye-to-eye look at everyone.

"Oh my god." He muttered as he scanned the room, staring up at Angor and Aaarrrgghh in particular.

"What's wrong, Master Jim…?" Blinky asked in concern, casting a skeptical look at Angor.

"I forgot how freakin' short I am."

Thankfully, that brought some chuckles that broke through some of the surrounding tension.

… Speaking of tension…

A suspicious look came over Jim as he scanned everyone in the room again. "Where's that bozo I happen to share a name with?" Jim asked apprehensively. "I thought he came back earlier…"

"Ah… he did, but…" Barbara started, sighing.

"… he was asked to leave." Strickler finished for her. "Things were stressful enough as is. He was only adding to that."

Jim raised an eyebrow.

He did ask Barbara (more like begged her) to let him know if Jim got any better. She made a mental note to text him later. He probably did deserve to know his son's not dying or anything, at the very least…

"Well, no complaints here." Jim said. He was more focused on adjusting to his new–

No. To his old body.

He took a tentative step away from Toby and Claire. The two didn't stop him, but kept a very close eye on him. Jim stretched out his arms, opening and closing his fists a few times - he had a normal amount of fingers again. Now that was a blessing he hadn't considered.

When he started to test his legs more, however, he stumbled. Almost everyone in the room started acting on the urge to catch him, but Toby and Claire were the closest. "Take it easy, Jimbo…" Toby nervously reminded him, but Jim shrugged off that comment and stood back up on his own. The trolls in the room made mutual sounds of uncertainty.

"It's okay guys, I'm fine!" He said in a chipper tone. "Just got to get used to-"

It didn't take long for the universe to prove him wrong. A blue shower of magical sparks fizzled up his body again, and the Trollhunter shouted from the sudden pain, almost falling over once more. His friends repeated their catching maneuver, and Barbara immediately moved in to help steady him as well. "Jim, are you okay…?!" She asked frantically as the light faded.

"Ow ow ow ow-" Jim hissed through clenched teeth, gripping his leg. "That- That could have gone better…"

Merlin took this opportunity to speak up, stepping forward while clearing his throat. "Perhaps now would be a wise time for a proper magic user to take a look at him?" He suggested, casting a side eye to Strickler and Angor before focusing on Jim. "Outside?"

Jim shifted looks between the three of them, confused. "Uh… okay?"

Before Jim could ask about the weird tension they had going on, Strickler was the next of them to speak up.

"I'll accompany you two." Strickler offered, moving next to Barbara and Jim. "Just in case there's anything more I can do for him."

"That really isn't necessary." Merlin said, rolling his eyes at the thought of spending more time around the skeptical impure. "You'd likely be more of a hindrance than a help-"

"Strickler was the one to calm him the first time around." Angor pointed out, cutting Merlin off to back up the Changeling's suggestion. Narrowing his eye at Merlin, he went on, "You have admitted to being uncertain about what this kind of magic might entail. He," Angor gestured to Strickler, "may still be of further help to the Trollhunter. What reason would you have to refuse this?"

"For once, I wholeheartedly agree with you, Angor." Blinky added in, his suspicious glare also turning to the wizard.

Merlin rolled his eyes for a second, unnecessary time. If this were to come down to a vote, he'd surely lose. "Oh, fine, fine. Come along, then."

Confused, Strickler gave Angor a strange look. If the troll had seen it, he didn't acknowledge it before wandering off to a different room. Deciding it would be better not to question the assassin's sudden moment of support, Strickler turned to Barbara and the children instead, offering a hand out to Jim. "If you're still having trouble walking…"

"I think I've got it now," Jim said, taking some slow steps away from the others to test the waters, "It hurt for a minute, then it was gone…"

Nodding slowly, Strickler stayed close as they followed Merlin out, just in case.

"… Ssssoooo…" Toby drawled, looking around at those who remained. "We're gonna take turns checking on them, right?"

Claire, Blinky, Aaarrrgghh, and Barbara all immediately chimed in their agreements.

"Right…" Dictatious spoke up, making Toby jump - he'd forgotten that he was in the room, obviously - "Before you lot go about your business, might I bother one of you for a walk back to the pudgy one's house?"

"I know you know my name, Dictatious!"

.

Now it was just a matter of waiting.

From the impromptu physical therapy and lessons Jim was getting from Merlin and Strickler, the trio had gotten the sporadic form-shifting mostly under control. Strickler's "young struggling Changeling" theory seemed to really be carrying weight. From the nature of this magic, it's very likely that Jim, with practice, will be able to switch between his human and half-troll form at will.

"I am… at a loss." Merlin finally admitted. "The anomalies that are letting your kind change forms again," he explained, gesturing to Strickler before turning his befuddled gaze back on Jim, "seem to be affecting our Trollhunter as well… but it should not be possible."

"I mean, yeah, you've said that already…" Jim responded, "but this is, like… purely beneficial, isn't it?" He asked. When Merlin's gaze upon him turned skeptical, Jim further explained, "I mean, if this is something I'll be able to do at will, I can have the benefit of being human and troll, but… you know… without the drawbacks that come with being half-troll? Like, I'll be able to go outside without having to wear my armour, for one thing…" Rubbing the back of his head, he frowned. "If this is something Morgana intended to do, I just don't see how it's supposed to cripple us. Couldn't it have been some freak accident from the other weird magic stuff She's trying to do?"

"Hrmmm…" Merlin didn't seem satisfied with that explanation, but he didn't shoot it down altogether. "… Perhaps," he eventually said, though his tone of voice said 'absolutely not'.

"Either way," Strickler spoke up, "it would be wise for you to practice these shifts in forms, so you don't end up in any… unfavourable situations."

"Indeed." Merlin, to his own surprise, agreed. Squinting slightly, he said, "There is still more to this worth studying, after all…"

.

The trio had been outside for the better part of three hours, with Barbara and friends checking up on them every now and then. Angor Rot stayed close by, keeping an ear out should anything disastrous occur, but he chose to spend some time away from the others right now. That prolonged series of events surrounded by stressed humans and trolls for so long was something he needed a break from.

He'd ended up settling in the kitchen, as it wasn't in use currently, and the windows provided a decent enough hearing point as to anything going on outside. Plus, this was a good opportunity to make more totems, though he'd started running out of places to store them…

"Angor?"

At the sound of the Trollhunter's voice inside the house, Angor pocketed his current carving. Just a moment later, Jim entered the room.

"Trollhunter." Angor greeted him with a small nod. "You are feeling better?"

"I think so, yeah… Strickler's going to help me out as much as he can with adapting to all… this." Jim rubbed the back of his head. Held at his side was something wrapped in cloth. "Listen… I wanted to thank you for all you did back there. I really owe you one."

"One… what?" Angor Rot blinked slowly, confused. "You don't owe me anything. I've tried to kill you more times than I've helped you."

Jim chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "Well, fair enough… but I'm still grateful. And…" He held out the clothed object to Angor. "… I think you should have this back. It's yours, after all."

Still slightly confused, Angor accepted the item, unwrapping it to reveal his signature snake knife with Creeper's Sun still carefully sheathed inside. He said nothing, but gave Jim another questioning look.

"Just… you know… don't use it on yourself, please…?" Jim added, a hesitant smile on his face.

"Hmm…" Angor returned his attention to his knife, tilting it slightly in his hand, and he noticed one of the snake eyes had been replaced with a different gem. It had a… familiar energy somehow. "What's this?"

Again, Jim chuckled somewhat awkwardly. "Well, uh, I know it's not much use to you anymore, but, well, it's… your eye?" Jim looked pointedly at the knife and added, "Ah, what's left of it, anyway…"

Angor Rot did a double take at that. "My-?" He shook his head, his intact eye narrowing in his puzzlement. "Why would you do that? What if I were to turn on you? This isn't a tactically sound idea."

"Hey. I know you wouldn't do that." Jim said, a more serious note to his voice. "I think it's important that you have it back."

"I don't." Angor Rot wrapped the knife back up and held it to Jim. "Like you said, it's of no use to me anymore. It's better off in your amulet."

Jim didn't take it back. He frowned at the troll.

"Angor. Listen." Jim said, voice lowered and even more serious. "You've really exceeded everyone's expectations these past months. I've talked to Tobes and Claire about this, and they agree. We trust you, Angor, and we want to make sure you understand that." Jim lightly pushed Angor's weapon back towards him. "I trust you. You do know that, right?"

Angor didn't respond. He just stared from the knife to Jim, an expression on his face that Jim couldn't quite discern, but the troll seemed momentarily dumbstruck, to say the least.

Jim just shook his head and chuckled quietly. He started to walk past the puzzled troll, giving him a light pat on the back as he passed. "I'll see you later, yeah? Keep taking care of yourself."

All Angor Rot could do was watch in quiet contemplation as Jim left the room. He looked down at his knife, then back to the doorway, silent all but for the confused thoughts in his head.

.

It's been a long day.

Barbara's work hours, thankfully, have been made more flexible due to the worrisome situation with Jim. Even if it wasn't a full break, a little extra time off was definitely something she needed. But tonight, she was having a little trouble sleeping. She'd managed to convince everyone to stay at her house tonight, though it wasn't a majorly difficult feat - Jim could see how worried she's been, and he knew the closer proximity would put her mind at ease, at least slightly. So of course, the rest of them followed suit.

Wandering in loops around the house, being able to check on Jim and his friends at her own leisure, helped her nerves a little bit.

After her seventh or eighth time peeking into the guest room where they all slept, she finally sat down in the living room, sighing exasperatedly as she took some weight off. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she checked the time.

1:48 a.m. She should really be going to bed at some point.

It took her tired eyes a few moments to realize that she had unread texts. Upon opening up the messages, she was not thrilled to see "James Lake Sr." pop up on her screen.

7:02 p.m. – Hey Barb! It's James

7:03 p.m. – You probably knew that already

7:06 p.m. – It's been a few hours. Was just checking in to see if Jim's okay?

8:18 p.m. – You're probably busy with him now, so no rush of course, but please just le

8:18 p.m. – t me know as soon as you can? Thanks

10:23 p.m. – Is everything okay over there?

11:59 p.m. – please just tell me if he's oksy I'll stop msesaging you after I know you dont want to hear from me just please lett me know

… Oops…

Barbara pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. As much as she didn't want to talk to him, she again told herself that he should at least get to know if his son's died or not… And she certainly did not want to make herself feel guilty over James for any reason.

1:53 a.m. – Jim is doing better. He's sleeping now.

-Barbara

Barbara was not anticipating James's next texts so fast. He must have motors tied to his fingers.

1:53 a.m. – oh thank god

1:54 a.m. – Thank you for getting back to me

1:54 a.m. – Does anyone know what happened?

1:56 a.m. – NVM /i forgot I said I'd stop messaging, you're probably going to bed anyway..

Biting her tongue, Barbara contemplated for a long moment, trying to decide whether or not to text back.

.

2:05 a.m. – No definitive answers yet.

-Barbara

.

Angor Rot was also having a restless night. He kept going back and forth from the Domzalski household to the Lake's, almost as if he were patrolling the area for threats. Despite what was probably an unhealthy lack of sleep, he remained on high alert.

Whatever is doing these things may not even be purely physical, but there was at least that fake-Draal that could possibly still be around somewhere. It was enough to be worth keeping an eye out.

By the twentieth or so round he'd done past the Domzalski house, Angor heard the back door open, a familiar green face peeking outside.

"What on earth are you doing?" Dictatious had finally asked. Nancy had supposedly seen him out the window a few times before she'd gone to bed, but Dictatious hadn't expected he'd still be at it all these hours later. "That is you out there, isn't it, Angor?"

That recognizable, mildly annoyed-sounding huff that came from the other troll confirmed Dictatious's guess. Stepping outside, he frowned in confusion. "You've been at this for hours… You do know that this is what the security cameras are for, yes?"

"I have been told of them, yes." The cameras were something that's been explained to Angor a few times, but he still didn't fully understand them. Even if he did, he'd probably still be out here regardless. Cameras can't utilize senses other than limited sight, anyways. "What I choose to do with my time is not your concern."

Through squinted eyes and raised brows, Dictatious let out a very doubtful hum. "Well, I am supposed to be 'watching' you, after all…" Frowning slightly, he also added, "Besides, have you even slept since you got here? Is that not something you need to do?"

There was a long stretch of silence. Dictatious was starting to wonder if Angor Rot was still there or if he'd walked off on him. He squinted harder against the blurry dark in search of movement.

"… Angor?"

"Why are you doing this, Dictatious?" Angor finally sighed. He didn't even sound angry anymore, just… drained.

Dictatious raised his eyebrow again, as if Angor's question was absurd. "Doing… what?" He asked plainly.

Through gritted teeth, Angor Rot growled under his breath.

"You know exactly what." The assassin snapped at him, "You treat me with contempt one moment, and then act as though nothing happened the next? Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to play along with this?"

"Ohh, you're still bothered about yesterday?" Dictatious sounded like he was surprised, but at the same time, the nervous flick of his eyes told Angor that he obviously knew the whole time that's what this was about. "So very sorry. I didn't realize someone of your stature would be so troubled by that."

… Something about the blatant lack of care in Dictatious's response stung ever so slightly.

"As much as I appreciate your… backhanded apology… it isn't necessary." Angor Rot said, eye narrowed at Dictatious. "The Trollhunter trusts that I won't seek death at every corner now. More importantly, you're no longer under any obligation to watch over me."

Now that, Dictatious truly didn't know how to respond to. He blinked a few times, his face a blank slate. A small "Oh," was all he managed to say back.

Angor Rot started to walk back to scout the Lake household again, adding before he left, "Since you've made it clear that you still doubt my abilities to teach you, I'm sure it will please you to know that I will not bother you with training anymore."

It wasn't said with malicious intention, not in the slightest. Angor had made that last statement in his normal, stoic way. Yet somehow, it still managed to spark a strange sense of anxiety within Dictatious. Faint memories of one of their first conversations echoed quietly in his head.

'You cannot fight?'

He still remembered so clearly the uncharacteristic amount of surprise Angor's tone held in that question.

'That won't be acceptable.'

Dictatious was realizing all too late that their training was something he had once looked forward to. But now, that lingering anxious feeling in his gut started to grow as he slowly realized what abandoning said training meant.

He's going to be useless again.

And, in Dictatious's experience, useless means disposable.