The next day, Meulin woke up and after Porrim looked at her wounds, the group had another meal. Shortly after, the jade blood left hunting and like usual she instructed Kankri about what to do something happened.

The evening was warm and humid. Kankri sat down by the river to enjoy the nature, when Meulin came to sit besides him. They stayed in silence until Meulin, broke it.

"So, what happened to you?" she asked turning her head towards him. "I told you my story, will you tell me yours?"

"My story... is a bit complicated," said Kankri not taking his eyes from the river's waves. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, what is your caste? Porrim is a jade blood, right? I heard they lived underground so I thought she is a runway. But what about you? And how did you two meet?" She meant her questions to be innocent but she obviously upset Kankri, putting a frown on his face. Meulin didn't notice and kept staring at him expectedly.

"She is a runaway because we met," explained Kankri. "Also, why does my caste matter?"

Kankri starting rubbing his elbow, looking a bit distraught. Meulin took notice of this and she took his hand in hers. She gasped a little at what she saw on his arm. He had a small scar from a scratch he got a while back. Kankri didn't turn to look at her and only spoke after she did.

"You are a-"

"Mutant," Kankri finished for her. He looked down refusing to meet her gaze. "Mother said I am special. When I asked her more she didn't want to tell me. I read about castes and mutations in a book she got me and now I know why. I am not special, I am just a freak."

"No, that's not true!" quickly intervened Meulin. "You are special. You saved my life. No other person would have done that, yet you did."

"So what?" asked Kankri finally meeting her gaze. "You thinking that doesn't change the color of my blood."

"I am not the only one thinking that. Porrim put herself in danger to save you. She saw something in you that no one else did," Meulin said, squeezing his hand.

Kankri smiled softly at this, "You might be right. I just have to live up to that, now."

Meulin returned his smile and they sat in silence for the next few minutes. It was all new to Kankri, interacting with trolls other than his mother. And even though he barely knew her, he felt safe with Meulin. Like they already spent so much time together. even though it has only been a few hours.

"What are you going to do?" asked Kankri out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" asked Meulin turning his gaze towards him.

"Well, you don't have your lusus anymore, do you? After you heal, what will you do? Where will you go?" explained Kankri.

"I... haven't thought about that, yet."

"Why don't you stay with us?" proposed Kankri.

"What?" asked Meulin confused.

"The only problem is mother won't agree to it at first, but she'll come around. You are a nice troll, not like the kind she tells me about. I know she knows that, too but she doesn't want me in danger. Even so, I will convince her, don't worry," said Kankri while showing a bright smile.

Meulin didn't say anything and just stared at him for a few seconds. She then broke into a grin. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed while tackling Kankri to the ground so she could hug him. "Sorry!" she said between giggles, followed by Kankri's own cheery laugh. The sounds of the echoed through the trees making everything seem just a little bit .

A few days have passed and Porrim finally returned to the wigglers carrying a beast on her back. They were all sitting down by the fire, chatting and waiting for the meat to roast when Kankri brought up the subject he has been looking forward to discussing.

"Mother, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Yes, Kanny, dear, what is it?" Porrim moved her gaze from the fire to the boy and noticed how nervous he was. She furrowed her eyebrows at this, but kept silent as she waited for him to speak. Kankri smiled a little at the used nickname and continued.

"You know how Meulin doesn't have anywhere to go, right?" Porrim only nodded her head.

"Well, I thought maybe she could stay with us," said Kankri closing his eyes not wishing to see his mother's reaction.

Porrim sighed, "I knew you would be proposing this and I have thought about it."

"Really?" Both kids' faces lit up after hearing this.

"But, food might be a problem," said Porrim but she was quickly interrupted.

"I'm a hunter! I can kill gigantic beasts with my bare hands. I can help with food," Meulin said, a little too eagerly.

"Well then, it's decided," said Porrim with a smile, "you can stay, Meulin."

The kids squealed in excitement and both jumped to hug Porrim tightly. They spent the rest of the night eating and laughing without a care.

The next day, Porrim decided to run into the small town at the outskirts of the forest for reasons she refused to mention so the wigglers were left alone for a little while. When she returned , she brought in her bag a long black fabric. Without saying a word she sat down and started sewing using olive string.

The kids watched curiously but they didn't interrupt her. Once she was done she turned over to Meulin.

"What is your sign?" she asked her.

Meulin picked up a stick and made a drawing on the ground. She started by making a small circle and finishing it with a loop.

"It's called Leo," she said while Porrim picked up her needle and string and started remaking the symbol on the shirt she was holding. It took her a while but when she was done, the mother was greatly pleased with her creation.

"Change into this," she told the girl.

Meulin took off her fur and handed it to Porrim. She put on the clothes and they fit her perfectly. She was surprised seeing as the jade troll has never taken her measurements. The girl realized Porrim had an affinity for this kind of thing.

The clothes made for her a bit tight but they were not limiting her movement. There were no overflowing parts unlike Porrim's dress and Meulin realized that it was because during hunting that would be a nuisance.

"Thank you," she said, genuinely smiling at the mother while feeling gratitude for everything that was done. The smile was returned and no other words were spoken that night, between the two.