Disclaimer: Trollhunters belongs to Guillermo del Toro.

Strickler always made teaching seem so easy. When he was a school teacher, he easily held the class's attention with witty, well-timed jokes and making the content seem interesting. When he was teaching him to fight like a changeling, he had a plan of everything that he was going to correct within that training session. Strickler was always good with his plans.

Jim, on the other hand, had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

The whole reminiscing over Strickler's teaching came from the task he was currently dreading, which would be happening later tonight. He was supposed to teach Claire some of the basics so that she could avoid the whole Draal situation that cropped up with him. The only problem was, he had never taught anyone before, so he was freaking out.

Toby and Claire were at school right now, his mom was at the hospital, and Blinky and AAARRRGGHH! were in Trollmarket, so he didn't have anyone to freak out to, which was making it worse. At least he wasn't tired, though. He was still doing his best to avoid sleep, and therefore Morgana. He was pacing in his room, pulling on his horns and hair while trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. It was times like this that he really wished Blinky had a phone. He didn't even know what counted as the basics!

Eventually, the half-troll forced himself to sit down on his bed and take deep breaths to calm himself. Closing his eyes, he waited for his heart to calm itself and his nervous flutter to leave. Then he thought to himself: what were my first steps?

He remembered Blinky teaching him the rules of Trollhunting. The first? Always be afraid. Two was always finish the fight. He'd talk to her about that one, helping her through any reservations she may have about it. The last, and his favorite? When in doubt, kick them in the gronk-nuks. Jim smirked. She'd think that one was pretty funny, but he'd have to get her to understand that it was the one rule that was actually helpful and that she didn't already have down. He was pretty solid on rule one before he even started, and he had a feeling she was too.

Getting up, Jim decided that it might be better to write this down to get his thoughts better organized. Walking downstairs to the kitchen, he leaned over the counter with paper and a pencil he swiped form the living room. He started a numbered list, with one being the three rules of Trollhunting. He thought back to his own combat training and debated on which teacher to emulate. Blinky was less combat oriented, and more theory and advice on how to take down an enemy. Draal, on the other hand, had taught him most of what he knew about fighting with Daylight. Well, Eclipse now, but they were essentially the same sword. He also gave him the most useful piece of advice when it came to his armor. Force it to do what you want it to do.

Looking down at his armor-clad body, he sighed to himself. The armor did now generally do what he wanted; it would brighten or dim on command, muffle his steps (Jim still had no idea how it did that), summon his sword to wherever he wanted it, and he could sometimes get it to form a sort of shield of energy over him. But it still wouldn't come off. He tried to push down his anger and frustration, but it was hard. He hadn't felt any need to use the bathroom or anything, but he really didn't appreciate not being able to get out of it for an entire week now.

He wanted the damn thing off.

Unfortunately, it still stubbornly ignored him, so he returned to his task before he got too far sidetracked. He marked two down on the paper, writing down Demonstrating stances and styles. Tapping the pencil to a tooth, he let his mind wander to Blinky. He knew Blinky would want a part in this, but what to give him? Maybe he could talk about theory and teach them about troll history as he was training Claire in future lessons. Nodding to himself, he went to put it down on the paper before he noticed that he had no pencil in his hand, and that he was chewing on something that felt suspiciously like wood. Pushing down his frustration at his uncontrollable urges, he swallowed and went to get another pencil.

Claire was having a decidedly exhausting day. Her teachers seemed to be giving out much more homework than they ever had before, Toby was avoiding her, and Mary and Darci were bombarding her with questions that she didn't have answers to. Currently, she was sitting in Strickler's history class, the atmosphere being generally bummed out with Jim's 'disappearance.' Even Strickler seemed to be down, and it was pretty hard for her to believe that he was a shapeshifting troll megalomaniac. She sent a glare Toby's way, feeling especially frustrated with the way that he refused to give her a hand.

She was taken aback when he sent a stronger glare back her way.

She caught a glimpse of Darci looking between the two of them with a confused expression. She quickly looked back towards the board, with Strickler detailing something about the aftereffects of the Peloponnesian war. While she was taking notes on what he was saying, she wasn't comprehending any of it. Claire's mind was decidedly mush right now, running on four hours of sleep and focused on an entirely different subject.

The bell rang, and she dutifully packed up her materials before standing up. "Ms. Nuñez, may I have a word with you?" Strickler's voice rang out. Turning to him, he was seated at his desk, posture as straight as a board and his pen clicking in his hand. He had a downcast look on his face. Making a quick decision, she walked over to him.

"Yes, Mr. Strickler?" She was hoping this would be over fast so she could catch Toby at lunch. She had some questions for him, and he wouldn't be getting away this time.

His pen clicked again, and he put it down next to his computer. "I know that you had a certain regard for Mr. Lake, just as he did for you. Though perhaps not as much as him. His disappearance has been hard on all of us, and I just wanted you to know that if you needed someone to talk to, my door is open to all."

She nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Strickler. I know that the police are hard at work, so I'm doing my best to just focus on what I can do."

"A wise decision, Ms. Nuñez. You always have been wise. Much like Athena, the Greek goddess of battle." He stood up, opening the door that the other students had closed. "Be on your way then, Athena. You will conquer this obstacle as you have every other."

She smiled at him, closing the door behind her as she walked out. Waiting for her were Darci and Mary, questioning expressions prevalent on their faces. "What was that all about?" asked Mary.

Claire shrugged. "He wanted to make sure I was taking Jim's disappearance well."

Darci winced. "I'm sure he's fine, Claire. My dad's all over it. He's already talked to his mom and he's turning Arcadia upside down." It took Claire a second to remember that they didn't know that Jim was fine. Well, maybe fine wasn't the right word. She started walking into step, the girls falling in with her.

Mary spoke up. "So Claire, are you excited about going to-" she looked from side to side, checking to make sure no one could hear them. "- Trollmarket?" she whispered excitedly.

Darci rolled her eyes. "It's not like anyone's going to be listening in on us, Mare. Besides, who wouldn't be excited about going to Trollmarket?" Claire glanced at her, and she could have sword that her eyes were sparkling. "A world of magical creatures, right beneath our feet! This is the coolest thing ever!"

"Yeah, except for the part about that big evil troll probably eating us!" Mary had seemed a bit fixed on that detail last night too. "Why is it that I seem to be the only one really concerned about this?"

As they were walking, they saw a poster for Romeo and Juliet. Claire groaned. "The play! I forgot about that!" They walked into the lunch room, Darci putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Girl, if you really want to be in the play, go for it! I'm sure you'll be amazing at it."

"That's not the problem. The problem is being the Trollhunter and Juliet with all of my classes." She sighed. "It's fine. I just won't try out for the play." The other two girls looked at her like she grew another head as they sidled into the food line

"You've already memorized all Juliet's lines!" Mary interjected, getting some strange gunk on her tray. "You've been excited about this play since they announced that it was going to happen at the beginning of the school year!"

"Making sure that evil magic rocks don't kill anyone sounds a bit more important to me." They left the food line, and she scanned the cafeteria for Toby. She found him sitting in his usual spot, the rest of his half of the table empty. It was even more depressing than it was when it was just him and Jim there. It didn't seem to do anything to his appetite, though.

She motioned for the girls to follow her as they went over to him. Once Mary figured out where they were heading though, she grabbed Claire's arm. "Claire, what do you think you're doing? Sitting with him would be committing social suicide!" Darci stopped in front of them, looking uncomfortable.

Claire rolled her eyes. "Do you want answers to questions about Trolls or not?"

Mary huffed. "Trolls or not, we still have lives! And I am not going to throw away mine for… him!"

Claire kept walking towards Toby, dragging Mary along with her. Darci seemed relieved that it was over, and she smiled at Toby as they approached. Toby, for his part, just looked surprised. He paused with a spoonful of his food halfway to his mouth. "Uh… what are you guys doing here? Isn't it like social suicide to be seen with me?"

Mary threw her arms up. "Exactly! But they won't listen to me!"

"Ignoring how incredibly rude that was, I think that we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other anyways, because of the whole troll business." Darci seemed to be perfectly at ease, eating her food as if she sat there every day. Mary gaped at her.

"You can't just say that in a crowded room! What if someone hears us? They'll think we're crazy!" Mary punctuated her point by waving her arms around wildly. Darci and Claire rolled their eyes and scoffed at her.

"Who's gonna listen in on us, those guys five seats away? Playing their DSs?" Claire turned to Toby. "I have some questions for you, you little twerp. You've been avoiding me all day." Toby immediately picked up his fork again and started doing a horrible job of pretending that she wasn't there. Claire huffed. "What is your problem?!"

"What's my problem? What's yours?! Do you have any idea how you're making him feel, every time you act like you're disgusted to be around him? He actually gives a damn about you, and you treat him like he's some abomination that you can't even look at without getting sick! Until you change that, you can piss right off." He crossed his arms, glaring murderously at her. The three girls had shocked looks on their faces, shrinking back in their chairs from the intensity of the pudgy boy's anger.

Darci leaned over to Claire and whispered, "Who's he talking about?"

"It's a long story," she whispered back. "Tell you later."

She raised her voice to normal volumes again to speak to Toby. "It's not like I don't care about him, but I only just really met him for the first time Saturday night! And yeah, he's terrifying, more than the trolls because he looks close enough to be relatively human! What do they call it, the uncanny valley? But that's besides the point, the point being that my fear isn't invalid!"

"You think he wanted to be that?" His voice was hushed, and he looked down into his food. He pushed some of it around before looking back up at her, and she could tell that he was unhappy. "He told you guys a streamlined version of the story. I got the full deal."

Claire jerked her head towards the other two, reminding Toby that they were present and very confused. He waved a hand, dismissing it. "It's not like they know what we're talking about, and they don't need to. This is between you and me right now."

"So what's so bad about me and him that you're getting all worked up over it?"

At this he shook his head. "Not here," he said. "I'll tell you, because he won't. Feels like it would pressure you into something. But what I'm trying to say is that he's really insecure in himself right now, and you're not helping. Just… I don't know, smile at him or something. He needs people to tell him that it's okay to be what he is right now." Toby sighed. "This is way too heavy of a topic to get into at a school lunch table. I'll make sure you get what I'm saying later. Before you go to see him."

Mary and Darci's eyebrows were almost in their hairlines now. Mary giggled, and Darci lightly punched her shoulder. "Look at you, having a secret boyfriend! I didn't know you had it in you, C-Bomb!" Mary had put down her phone, she was so proud of her. Claire felt her face heat up as she looked into Darci's grinning face.

"It's not like that, this is Trollhunter business!" The two of them lost their grins but they looked much more interested now. Claire shook her head. "No, you two can't come. He said that he was only going to show up if it was me and only me." A small lie, but she was pretty sure that Jim wouldn't appreciate the two of them knowing about him if he hadn't given approval.

Speaking of which, she did have his number now. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text, asking if the two of them could come with her. Jim almost instantly replied, surprising her. Not yet, the text said. Another text came in. Don't have a story yet, it said. She nodded to herself and sent a text to him Makes sense. She put away her phone before Darci could peek at who it was.

For the rest of the lunch period, the three girls idly chatted, and while Toby mostly kept to himself on his phone, he chimed in a couple times. She had to admit, he could be pretty funny, and he was really enthusiastic about everything. Maybe he could be a good friend like Jim said he was in the future.

Jim was in his basement, going through stances and swings that Draal had taught him in preparation for his lesson this afternoon. He had taken a brief break to text Toby throughout the boy's lunch period, the boy having a meltdown from the fact that not one, not two, but three of the most popular girls in school sat with him. He grinned to himself as he finished a swing, imagining Toby sitting there silently going omygosh ohmygosh under his breath. He said that Darci laughed at some of his jokes and interjections, so Toby was counting it as a win. He felt proud of his partner, knowing that he could be on track to getting a girlfriend faster than the last time.

Maybe he'd even have one before Jim. Chances are that Jim was never going to get a girlfriend, with the way things were going so far. He frowned, reminding himself to think positively. Claire ad only met him two days ago, anyways. He couldn't expect her to be the rock that he drew strength from like she used to be.

The half-troll growled to himself, completing a strike more aggressively than necessary. He had just told himself to think positively, and here he was, getting himself depressed. At least he had Toby. He always had Toby.

Speaking of which, they should have just gotten out of school. He was expecting Toby pretty soon, and Claire would probably be over only after she finished her homework. He was fine with that, it meant more bro time for them before he would probably get his heart crushed and powdered again.

At least she was okay. She was fine, and that was all that really mattered.

Toby was not fine with the way that things were going. He had known his best friend since they were five, he could read him like he was an open book. And right now, that book's topic was insecurity and self-hatred. And that was most definitely not fine.

The main problem, he had realized, was Claire. While this might be one of the worst things that he had ever done, betraying his partner's confidence like this, he knew it needed to be done. Claire needed to understand the weight she carried in regard to Jim. Sighing, he got off his bike and closed the garage as he entered his house. "Nana, I'm home!" he yelled out of habit, getting a greeting in return from his Nana.

He went up to his room, pulling his phone out of his bag and staring at it, debating on whether he should actually do what he was about to do. In the end, he told himself that it was necessary and called Claire.

The phone rang three times before she picked up. "Really, Toby? I thought the whole idea was to keep them out of the whole time travel thing."

"Yeah, well, I was a little worked up. You were being insensitive to my best friend, and he really needs sensitivity right now. Which is why I'm going to tell you this despite it being a huge betrayal of his trust." He took a deep breath, settling his face into a serious look despite Claire not being able to see. "You two were way more than friends in the future."

Toby heard a crash on the other side of the line, and then ten seconds of silence before Claire spoke. "You mean, like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"That's exactly what I mean. It goes a bit deeper than that, though, and I don't mean sex or anything. The only reason he got to a semi-stable emotional space was because you told him that you loved him." The phone was silent again.

Claire's voice sounded very small. "Oh."

"Yeah. So your whole thing about being scared of him is almost physically painful for him."

"That… wow. No wonder you got mad at me." She went quiet for a bit again. Toby waited patiently for her to gather herself. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Like I said, he was afraid that he might pressure you into something or you'd pity him. He really doesn't like pity. Never has." He remembered when he exploded at people when he was six for the looks they sent his direction, filled with pity for a child with no father.

"I'll… I…" Wow, she was really discombobulated over this. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try to be better about it. Are you going to be at the lesson?"

"Yeah. I'm going to head over to his house right now actually. Don't mention that I told you any of this, alright?"

"I won't." Before he hung up, he heard her say something else. "What was that?"

"Thank you, Toby. For telling me."

"Just make sure you're sensitive about it." He hung up.

Jim bounded up the stairs when he heard someone knock on the backdoor. He had been a little people-starved for a while, and he felt much lonelier than he should have. He briefly confirmed that it was indeed Toby at the door before opening it and scooping him up. Laughing, Toby hugged him back, and reciprocated in kind when Jim nuzzled him. Jim immediately set him down upon the realization of what he did and tried to apologize. "I didn't mean – uh, I'm sorry, wow, um, this is embarrassing…"

Toby held a hand up. "Jimbo, you've got some troll parts now! I was expecting at least a few behavioral changes, and if that means free hugs, then I guess I'll just have to suffer through it." Toby said the last part with so much sarcasm Jim was surprised it didn't start oozing out of his body. Still, he grinned, happy that Toby at least accepted his new instincts. They both trekked into the basement, Toby looking surprised at how clear it was. He seemed to shrug it off and found a chair so that he could do some of his homework. "So what kind of greeting was that?"

"I don't know. Brother or something, probably? I didn't exactly get a handbook." He was actually really nervous. This was the first time he had fallen prey to his own instincts in regard to a friend, and he didn't know if he would do that to someone else. Like his mom. Or God forbid, Claire. Toby wagged a finger at him.

"Nuh uh. That is a part of you, and you need to acknowledge. We'll work on it too, figure out how we're supposed to react, so we can do it properly too."

He felt his face flushing with something akin to mortification. "You don't have to do that, it was probably a one-time thing or something!"

"You just said it was a brotherly greeting! Listen," He quieted down, walking over to him and looking him in the eyes. His head was bent all the way back; he'd laugh if he wasn't so serious. "This is you. It is a part of you, and that's not a bad thing. I might not know too much about trolls yet, but you need to learn that being half and half doesn't make you something less than human or troll. If anything, it makes you greater. Blinky himself said that you were way stronger than a troll your size should be."

He kneeled on the ground so he could pull Toby into a hug. His best friend hugged him back, before they both let go. Toby went back to his chair, ignoring his homework in favor of watching Jim practice. Eventually, though, when Jim rolled his eyes and told Toby that he would get to see him and Claire later, he went to his work.

After a good hour and a half, when Toby was done with his homework, Jim looked towards the door, freezing in the middle of hoisting the dryer over his head with one hand. "Someone just knocked on the door," he explained to Toby when he glanced to his face questioningly. "Could you go check it out?"

Toby nodded and set off upstairs. Jim put the dryer back down and plugged it in, making sure that it was working fine as he heard the door open and close on the floor above. His heart picked up its pace a bit when he was able to determine that it was Claire's footsteps following Toby's but was able to calm himself by the time he was leading her into the basement. He mentally fortified himself for when she would refuse to meet his eyes but was pleasantly surprised when she smiled directly into them. He found his own lips pulling back into an uncontrollable grin, grimacing internally when he realized that would probably scare her more.

Her smile disappeared, but not in a bad way. More to make room for her determined expression as she put her backpack down next to the stairs and pulled out her amulet. She held it up and looked to Jim questioningly, and he nodded. She nodded back and began the incantation.

"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" A blue glow enveloped her, and she floated up until the armor had finished forming over her and deposited her back on the ground. She looked over herself, clenching her fists before looking up at him.

"Alright, before we actually start this, I want you to know that I've never taught anyone in my life." He felt like it was probably a good idea to clarify that before he started, so that she would know that she could probably get better instruction almost anywhere else. Still, though, he had to try. "Now, I'm going to start this by teaching you the three rules of Trollhunting."

She snorted. "There are rules? Beyond just kill the bad things?"

"Well, that one's pretty much understood. These are rules of survival, rules that every Trollhunter lives and dies by." He drew himself up to his full height, a rather impressive one as he knew. He looked down at her and noticed that she was not focused on his face. "Claire?"

Claire knew that this was going to be a new sort of experience. Not just in that she was learning how to fight, but she was going to face her future boyfriend who was her current crush. Well, before he time-traveled. Now, she didn't know what she was going to think. But she promised both Toby and herself that she was going to try and give him a chance. Walking down the stairs to the basement, she decided to truly look at him. Not just the half-glances at the monster that he had seemingly become.

When he looked up at her, she took a mental breath, telling herself that this was it. She smiled at him, and truly looked at him.

The first thing she noticed was that his eyes were still the same color. A deep blue that she enjoyed, as she had never seen it anywhere else. His hair was long and a bit wild, which was kind of endearing. It was indeed hair and was the same as when he was human. She decided that she liked it. His jaw, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit. One of his few physical qualities that weren't the most handsome before he changed was his weak jaw and chin. That was no longer the case. It looked like his face had been chiseled by Greek architects, declaring it one of their mighty gods. While his lower jaw jutted out, it seemed so natural that it would have been wrong otherwise. She also thought that his fangs (tusks?) were cute rather than intimidating.

She found her smile changing from a greeting to a true smile, and mentally copied his new face into her mind. It was far more pleasing than she had originally thought, and she'd judge later whether she like it more than his old one.

She dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs, pulling the amulet out of it. She raised an eyebrow at the half-troll, silently asking whether or not he wanted it activated. When he nodded, she went ahead and said the incantation that she had already memorized. "For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" She waited for the armor to finish forming, bracing herself when she fell. She looked up at Jim, waiting for him to start.

"Alright, before we actually start this, I want you to know that I've never taught anyone in my life." He did seem pretty nervous, though that might also be because it was his future/ex-girlfriend in the room with him. She thought over it a bit, but the decision on whether it would be future or ex in the back of her mind. That didn't matter right now.

"Now, I'm going to start this by teaching you the three rules of Trollhunting." She found that highly amusing, snorting at it. There were rules to killing trolls? Like what?

"There are rules? Beyond just killing the bad things?"

"Well, that one's pretty much understood. These are rules of survival, rules that every Trollhunter lives and dies by." He drew himself up to his full height and found her newly opened mind not ready.

She had not noticed his arms before. The way the chain-link part of the armor forms, it pretty much conforms to the skin. And the muscle. And by God, she was not ready for the arms. His shoulders were hidden behind his pauldrons, but she found his overall size something much different than intimidating. Claire felt her blood rushing to her face, heating up as she stared at his body. The broadness in his chest and those shoulders… Dear Merlin, why does the armor have to be so tight?

She shook herself out of it when she heard him call for her. "Yes?" Her voice was much higher pitched than she meant for it to be. She cursed how she couldn't hide her blush, wishing for a helmet to cover her. Toby snickered from his seat, reclining in a chair. She threw a deathly glare at him, which made him start guffawing instead.

Poor Jim was looking between them with bewilderment etched on his face, no idea what was happening. Claire decided right then and there that it was most definitely future girlfriend.

Jim shook off his confusion before summoning Eclipse to his right hand, putting both of his hands on the pommel and resting the tip on the ground in front of him. "If you two could pay attention," he lightly admonished them. When Claire looked back at him, he noticed a bright blush on her face. He raised an eyebrow but didn't question it. When Toby stopped laughing, he took that as his cue to start.

"Rule One: Always be afraid."

Claire grinned, her blush fading. "Think I've got that one down pretty well."

"I know I did when I was starting. But seriously. Always be afraid. Fear heightens your senses, makes you faster in both mind and body. Trolls don't get the strength boost from adrenaline, but I know that boost has saved me more times than I can count. So, fear is something that you need, not something you want to ignore." She nodded, awkwardly leaning against the pole. At his and Toby's questioning looks, she rolled her eyes.

"Just standing there feels really awkward."

"I get it. Blinky was chucking rocks at me the whole time he was teaching me this."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah, rocks were one of his favorite things. AAARRRGGHH! would stand behind me and eat all the ones I dodged." They all shared a laugh, Jim reminiscing and Toby and Claire imagining the giant popping rocks in his mouth like they were popcorn.

Letting his laughter subside, Jim gently tapped Eclipse to the ground to regain their attention. When he felt that they were sufficiently focused again, he spoke. "Rule Two: Always finish the fight." This one he knew needed a looser interpretation. "Blinky and most trolls will tell you that this means that you need to kill all your enemies, finishing the fight that way. I found that there were plenty of people that I didn't kill who became invaluable allies. The first was this one gnome, then there was Draal, Strickler, Nomura, and even Angor Rot." Toby gave him a look at the last name, and Jim winced, figured that he was still upset over hm leaving.

Claire nodded, and she looked determined. "So how do I figure whether I should kill them or not?"

Jim shrugged. "That's mostly up to you. I did it by figuring out why they were fighting. Draal wanted to kill me because he didn't respect me, for instance. Once I beat that respect into him, he became one of my best friends. Strickler just wants what's best for the changelings as a whole, so once they kicked him out, he realized that there were those who might look out for him for a change."

Claire looked as if she understood, nodding again. "And the last one?"

The half-troll's face stretched into a wide grin. "When in doubt, kick them in the gronk-nuks."

"The what?" Claire looked very confused.

Jim picked up a couple pieces of paper left over from Toby's homework and wadded it up. And then chucked it at the area directly between Toby's legs. The boy let out a high-pitched squeal, cradling the area and curling in on himself. "What the hell, Jimbo?!"

He gestured towards the scene as Claire was busy dying of laughter. "The gronk-nuks." To Toby, he said, "Suck it up, drama queen. We both know that didn't hurt." Toby tried to glare at him but ended up with a hybrid grin-frown that lost all effectiveness.

"Yo-you're kidding me." She was barely able to get the words out between laughs. Once it properly subsided and she was able to breathe again, she gave him a smile that took his own breath away. "A third of Trollhunting is kicking your enemy in the balls?"

"That's the idea." His grin felt as if it was stuck to his face, he still couldn't wipe it off. "I can't even tell you how many times that one saved my life. I nailed Draal during our fight, and it took Angor Rot by surprise, which was basically the entire reason we beat him the first time."

Claire shook her head. "I'll keep that one in mind." She drew herself up. "I'm sensing that we're getting to the practical part of the lesson." A coy smile formed on her face, and he knew that the only reason his face wasn't burning was that the blush didn't show through his skin. For once, he was grateful for his half-troll body.

"Yeah. I'll teach you the way Draal taught me." He held Eclipse aloft, getting in the very first stance that Draal showed him. "Mirror my moves, young apprentice." She laughed but did as he asked.

As she matched his stance, he felt something move through him. A surge of energy, feeling like it came from his heart. Or, perhaps more accurately, his amulet. He looked down and noticed that the glow was much more pronounced. Claire gasped beside him, and his eyes shot to her.

She was holding the sword a bit loosely, but before he moved to correct it, he noticed that her amulet was glowing, much like his own. Curiously, he let down his own stance, noticing that the amulets dimmed. Curiously, he asked her, "Did you feel that too?"

She nodded, staying in stance. She did ask him a question of her own, though. "Is that normal?"

"If it is, I've never felt it before. It might be something with two amulets. By the way, your grip is a little loose." She tightened her hand on Daylight, and he moved to a new position.

There was another surge of energy as she matched him, the amulets glowing again. He felt a similar surge of energy but was ready for it this time. He looked over to her, corrected her stance that was leaning a bit, and moved to a new one. She almost immediately moved into it, with only minor flaws which she corrected by looking at him. Jim frowned. This was unusual for beginners, and he knew for a fact that she was no prodigy with a blade. Not like he was, anyways. I mean, who else can say that they managed to fight Bular the Vicious with no training?

He was getting off track. He kept shifting through various stances, going back to old ones and trying new ones. She matched every one of his movements, the amulets growing brighter and she was able to move faster while following him. Eventually, he found her matching his own moves, falling in sync with him, and a new feeling was cropping up in the back of his mind. One of pure euphoria, and it was intoxicating. Toby covered his eyes, not being able to see through the blinding light. He looked over to Claire, unimpeded by the light. A truly radiant grin had found its way on her face, and he knew that he probably had a matching one on his own. He executed a spinning jump, which she matched but failed to stick the landing.

And just like that, the magic was over. The amulets dimmed to a level to which Toby could safely peek out without being blinded. Jim rushed over, lifting Claire off the floor with his human hand round her waist. "Holy shit guys! What was that? Claire, have you done this before or something?"

She looked down at the sword in her hand, confusion etched on her face. "I haven't, but… it felt like I've been doing this for years now." She looked up at Jim, still holding her off the ground, a stunned look on his own face. He had absolutely no idea what had just happened, but if she kept that up, then she would probably be better than him in no time.

"Well, do it again! This time without Jim's help." Toby, at the least was excited for whatever was happening. Claire nodded, lifting Daylight up to her shoulder before starting on the stances again. Her first stance was fine, but the second was… sloppy, to say the least. Any others she went through were a jumbled and confused mess.

Claire let the sword hang from her hand, the tip touching the ground. Jim dismissed Eclipse, running his human hand across a horn thoughtfully. He considering the possibilities. Whatever way one wanted to look at it, what just happened was definitely caused by the amulets. The glow was usually a dead giveaway. But it looked like it only worked with both of them, as if they were fueling each other or synchronizing. It wouldn't be very useful to have two people doing the exact same thing in a fight, though. The half-troll decided that they would have to continue it with Blinky, as he'd probably be able to figure it out better than him. That didn't mean they couldn't try to make it muscle memory, though.

He summoned Eclipse to his hand again. "Claire, you want to go again? Slower this time. Muscle memory is crucial, and if you do it right the first couple times then there's no chance for bad habits." He also really wanted to feel whatever that was again. It had been a while since he had been carefree enough to feel like he was flying. The fact that he was sharing it with Claire made the desire a bit stronger.

Smiling, she lifted Daylight again, assuming the first stance the way he had showed her.