The olive girl could see a hint of trust form behind his eyes, just a slight chance of hope lingering behind it.
"You're not like the trolls my mom told me about…" He said slowly, still unsure of her. The Signless stood with her help and wiped his scraped hands on his clothes. She looked at him sadly.
"I guess I'm different like you." She said quietly. He glanced back at her now, a trace of a smile on his lips. "There's a stream nearby, we can wash your cut if you want."
He nodded and began to follow her. It was quite a short walk, just a few yards away really. The Signless crouched beside the running water and held his hands above the surface. A dozen tiny fish scattered when he plunged them in, and it was a relief to feel the cool cleansing rush of it. The girl climbed onto a nearby rock and watched him rub his hands.
"What's your name?" She asked happily.
"You can just call me the Signless. I don't have a sign like others." He glanced up barley able to make the loopy sign etched on the girls' shirt beneath the layer of dirt. He returned to his hands. "What are you doing out here in these woods? There aren't supposed to be any other trolls for miles." The ruby blood asked in wonder. At least that was what his mother had always told him.
"I live out here." She said simply, now dipping her toes in the water. Signless withdrew his from the stream and sat back, looking up at her.
"Really? Where?"
"Everywhere!" She giggled.
"How do you live?" He looked at her in wonder; she really couldn't be much older than him.
"I just hunt for myself. It's not that hard, I've done it as long as I can remember!" This girl really did smile a lot.
"Wow." He said, finally returning a full grin. "This is my first time out by myself."
She blinked in surprise. "Your first?" The Signless nodded and she shook her head in wonder.
"My mom has always wanted to protect me. She says that if anyone saw my blood color that I would be taken away. But she says they're wrong. She says I should always keep my dreams alive regardless of other trolls. And I think she's right. It's not fair for me to have to stay locked away my whole life!" The Signless ranted. The olive girl just watched and listened in wonder.
"Sorry." He said, seeing her face.
"No, I like listening to you!" Her fangs were exposed in a smile as wide as Signless had ever seen. He smiled in return.
He continued his tale, telling her the stories of the brave trolls who stood up for others and themselves, leading revolutions and changing the world. He spoke of how he one day dreamed to be like them and follow in their footsteps.
"Wow! If you were a big leader like that I would totally follow you, I would be like a disciple to you!" She spoke in wonder, eyes large and adoring.
"Alright then, my Disciple, we can change the world together." He grinned at her and she giggled in return.
"I learned all this from my mom though, she's the one who told me all these stories in the first place, and she's all I've ever known." He lay back on the ground, head in his hands. Suddenly his eyes snapped open.
"My mom!" Signless jumped to his feet and quickly gathered up a few stray sticks.
"What's wrong, Signless?" She sat up and watched as he scampered around.
"I'm supposed to be getting firewood!" The pile of twigs he now had in his arms were nowhere near firewood material. "If she finds out I ran into another troll I'll be in huge trouble!"
The olive girl jumped down and began picking up sticks as well. He grabbed them from her hands and thanked her before running off into the brush. The girl just frowned and looked at her feet; she was so excited to have a companion and now he was gone just like that. He has truly been wonderful too, his stories were fantastic and he had a kind heart. She wanted to listen to him more, to learn from him and his ideas. It was a bit disappointing. But moments later there was a rustle from where he had run off and his shaggy head was popping out to meet hers. Their eyes caught and it was silent a moment.
"Can we meet up tomorrow here?" Signless asked hopefully. The girl broke into a grin again and shook her head yes excitedly. The boy nodded in return and ran off again, leaving the girl with hopes of seeing him again. Happily she climbed a tree and looked the moons she had caught the boy staring at earlier. There really was a certain beauty to them that she had not taken the time to notice until now.
Signless tripped through the trees and grabbed sticks and logs of all sorts as he scrambled to get home. He had been out far too long talking with that girl, he realized he had never asked her name, and his mother would surely be angry by now. As he came closer to his home Signless slowed his pace, bursting in might put his guardian in a panic. So he calmed his breath and held the wood in his arms as he trumped forward, soon entering a clearing with a cave. He saw the Dolorosa standing at the entrance with a worried look on her face. But he soon caught her eye and relief spread across her features. She welcomed him back with open arms.
"Any troubles?" She asked, smoothing his hair down.
"No mama." He stretched out on his tip toes and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"You were gone quite a while, I was beginning to worry."
"I was just admiring the moons for a while, I guess I lost track of time."
"Very well, my child. I'll take those from you." She held out her arms and he placed the wood in it, slightly embarrassed by the poor quality of it. "We really must work on your firewood collecting skills though." She added with a smile. Signless gave a little laugh along with his mother as they entered the cave together.
It was a nice cave, really. Secluded deep in the Alternian forest, it remained hidden from the world. On the outside it looked like a real cave, but on the inside a normal troll may confuse it with a hive. There were decorations and paintings, rugs and furniture, all sorts of things the Dolorosa had accumulated for the two of them over the years. They mostly lived off of plants around the area, but occasionally the disguised Dolorosa would make her way back into a small town and shop for supplies or food. But medicines and food were mostly provided by the land around them. Their clothes were all hand sewn by the Dolorosa; there were fresh picked flowers in various spots around the home, blankets hand stitched as well as some of the furniture. The paintings on the walls were either created by the Dolorosa or the Signless. A fire located in the center provided heat as well as a cooking place and light source, but on especially cold nights the Sufferer would find himself snuggled up with his mom under a heap of blankets not too far from the flames.
The Jade blood began to tend the flames and add pieced of the collected wood to it. It stirred and flickered as the Signless's thoughts wandered back to the strange girl he met. He didn't have anything to call her, so he settled on Disciple as she had referred to herself as earlier. So the Disciple lived out there all by herself. Signless couldn't fathom what it would be like not to have his mom, let alone no one. So he hoped that he would be able to see her again tomorrow for both their sakes. His mother was now next to him holding out a cooked vegetable. He took it gingerly from her and began to take little bites, still thinking of the Disciple.
"Where is your mind, son?" The Dolorosa asked. She was eating her own food next to him. "You're not very talkative tonight. How was your time on your own?"
He wanted to tell her about the girl, but he feared that he would be forbidden to see her again so he just shook his head.
"It was nice, the land is very beautiful." He spoke softly.
"Indeed it is." She said in return.
Night had fallen completely now and wind began to howl at the cave entrance, warning them of a storm. Signless felt his stomach fall; the Disciple was still out there. He frowned and set his food down.
"Are you not very hungry?" The Dolorosa asked. She was beginning to feel concerned; her son did not normally act this way.
"No, I'm just tired right now." He said in a resigned tone that spoke the truth. His mother nodded in understanding.
"Wash up then, I'll ready your bed."
Signless proceeded to a far corner of the cave where a woven basket waited, filled with fresh water. He scooped some into his hands and scrubbed his face. He then took off his cape robe cloth and folded it neatly next to the basin. The boots came off next and the wind howled even more. He stumbled over to his bed now, truly exhausted. It was already ready for him near the fire. His mother was standing near the mouth of the cave and surveying the weather, so he crawled inside hoping that his body heat would warm the woven blankets quickly. She returned to him, sitting on her own bed near his and stroked the Signless's hair.
"Once upon a time there was a young troll, not unlike you. But he was trapped was beneath the earth, and no matter how much he screamed and fought and yelled no one else could hear time. But above land there was legend of this poor troll's imprisonment. No one was brave enough to free him though for there were perilous tasks guarding his cell. But there was one troll who didn't care of the worry ahead; in fact, this troll was willing to risk it all for a man she didn't even know because she knew that that's what was right. So she prepared herself, restless training until the day she was ready. And on that day she traveled to the entrance of his prison. A guard stood and warned her, this task was much too dangerous for a troll like her. But she forced him to step aside and descended into the darkness. The first task was a mighty beast, a brute. It was so strong that it used to carry mountains on its back. There was no way that the troll's strength could match that of the beasts, so she tried something else. She noticed that the beast's eyes looked puny and weak, so she grabbed her arrow and shot them straight out, leaving the monster blind. Enraged, the beast slashed and flung about while the troll snuck by it to the next chamber without it even noticing.
The next task was just two doors. One would lead to the troll, the other certain death. But the girl outwitted even that trap and moved on. The third chamber was a spirit. It spit flames at her, not just burning her body but burning her soul. It manipulated her attempting to change her goal to reach the troll. It inflicted self doubt, worry, hate, and many other soul scarring things. But the young troll stood up against this spirit without a doubt in her mind and told it exactly what she planned to do; to free the troll from injustice. The spirit blew away into dust as she said this, for she was so sure of herself that nothing could deter her. Finally she reached the chamber where the troll was locked away and set him free. The two returned to the surface and lived as lifelong friends. The end."
The Dolorosa planted a kiss on his forehead and bid the Signless goodnight before stirring the fire for the last time and crawling inside her own bed. As the Signless closed his eyes and drifted off, he couldn't help but think of the girl in the forest.