"But what attracted me to weeds was not their beauty, but their resilience. I mean, despite being so widely despised, so unloved, killed with every chance we get, they are so pervasive, so seemingly invincible."
― Carol Vorvain
.
.
The smell woke Alexandra, and then the pain. Within the first moment of awakening she discovered that she could not move, at all. Her limbs were heavy and painful, her first right elbow was on fire, and the clanging in her ears matched with the pulsing of an unpleasant headache.
It only got worse from there.
Inching her head to the right, there was a lovely pile of cat leavings. Her nose, sensitive in troll form, was assaulted again with the smell and she turned her head away.
The cat was perched on her chest, apparently very happy with itself.
I regret saving you, she thought at it. I should eat you myself.
Alexandra shook just enough to set her torso on fire and send the cat tumbling to the floor. She ignored its glares and took a careful look around the room, and then shifted to her human body.
The pain was the same, but she was in a body that she was accustomed to and had slightly more practical proportions. On her human skin the bruises were significantly more evident, and her elbow was swollen and reddish.
More than anything Alexandra wanted a hot shower, but the baths were public and both down the stairs and down the hall, which was more effort than she was prepared to take at the moment. Carefully, her arms extended until she was sitting somewhat upright – damn, even breathing was painful.
The light of the Heartstone shone on her face through the lone window, as if peeking in to ask if she was okay. Imaginary or not, just knowing the Heartstone was there and that a part of its beat was her own pulse made her feel…if not better, then marginally comforted.
The moment of sitting up shifted the leather covers, and a package fell off the nest.
Oh. She'd forgotten to take the medicines Blinky had bought for her.
Vague instructions filtered through her pounding head and she slowly opened the package, chewing on a wad of herbs to form a paste and swallowing whole some others. There was a tiny crystal, bright yellow, that pulsed with her heartbeat when she picked it up, and the pain in her ribs and elbow decreased when she moved the crystal's light across them.
The cat lost interest in her three minutes in, and slept through the next forty that it took for the medicines to work enough for Alex to stand up and shift back.
She honestly had no idea what time it was; trolls kept different times than humans, given their long lifespans and underground habits. It could be the middle of the day for all she knew, but as Blinky and AAARRRGGHH hadn't broken down the door for another training session, it couldn't be that late.
She shut the cat in the room and hobbled down to the baths, where she spent the next hour or so soaking the aches out of her muscles. Whatever time it was, the halls were empty, a gentle susurrus of distant voices echoing from the markets on the other side of the Heartstone.
The baths were actually really nice. They weren't anything but sunken tubs in round rooms with high walls, made of some smooth, dark stone, but the atmosphere was very peaceful and quiet, the darkness comforting. The water was fed from an underground spring somewhere; the baths themselves were merely openings in the floor over a softly-flowing river, metal grates over the ends to prevent anyone from being washed away. The water was warm, very warm, and smelled thick and metallic and slightly sulfuric, but to her sore body it was the most wonderful thing she'd ever felt.
Her headache dwindled down to a soft annoyance, and Alexandra went over her agenda for the next while.
She was going to avoid the physical training for as long as she could, which would give her time and excuse to really study the books she'd borrowed. Blinky clearly wanted her to learn the history of Trollhunters as well as the actual practice, which was more than fine with her, so as soon as she could drag herself out of the bath she'd get started on reading. Alexandra also wanted to explore more of Trollmarket and its surrounding areas, and perhaps make another visit to the Heartstone.
At some point in time she'd have to go upstairs and fetch Kanjigar's body, the logistics of which were not on the table for analysis at the moment. It was going to be difficult and complicated, and she really didn't want to think about it now.
Her time in the baths was cut shorter than she really wanted when the enormous face of AAARRRGGHH peered around the corner of the room and smiled at her.
"Found you," he rumbled. He really couldn't fit his body through the doorway but he managed an arm and tapped it on the wall.
"Blinky says time for training."
"Tell Blinky I'm too sore," Alexandra mumbled. AAARRRGGHH gave her a look that clearly said, But did you die?
She grumbled and shook the water off her arms, pulling on her shawl before climbing out of the water. She'd have to get some different clothes if she was going to be in troll form for a long time. Her shawl and skirt were over fifty years old and had survived both her hippie days and the year she spent underground detoxing from all the crap she took in the seventies, and it was practically disintegrating. She followed AAARRRGGHH out of the bath, trailing water as she fussed over the fabric.
Changelings were image-conscious in nature, from both necessity and preference. Whatever or whoever they were masquerading as required thought in presentation, and as a group they regularly tried to upstage each other with how well put-together and convincing they made their disguises. Stricklander had always gone for the distinguished look, Nomura pinks and violets and sharp corners. Some of her fellows cloaked themselves in normality and anonymity, while others used rebellious looks and outlandish styles to distract and distance.
Alexandra had been a blend-in-er until 1968, when she went off the grid and needed to disguise herself more from other Changelings than from the humans surrounding her. She'd cut her hair, dyed it, gone crazy with the piercings and makeup and clothing until she wasn't a face or a voice but a swath of purple hair, or an assortment of jeweled glasses and earrings. She'd bumped into Nomura only two weeks after moving to Arcadia, had knocked a file and book out of the Changeling's hands, and in the two-minute conversation following the other woman had not once recognized her. She'd been a pair of hornrims and a messy bun, not a familiar face.
So she knew that she'd have to get new digs. A Trollhunter couldn't be walking around in a shawl and frayed sarong. Trolls weren't exactly the best when it came to fashion – clothing was more a consideration than anything else; hell, some trolls like AAARRRGGHH didn't even need to bother – but even to trolls appearance mattered, and that was a language that Alex was fluent in.
AAARRRGGHH, to Alexandra's immense relief, led her to past the entrance to the Hero's Forge and onward to Blinky's library, which was just as messy as it had been the day before. Blinky was organizing a stack of books on a table when they entered, and he shooed out another troll to give them some room.
"Ah! I see AAARRRGGHH found you," he said, happily hugging a book to his chest. "Excellent. I believe we shall get started on the other half of your training today, which is just as if not more important than the physical work."
He held up the book with a dramatic and yet completely genuine gesture, but Alex saw the look in his eyes. She took his words to meaning, I know you're half dead so I'll have pity and give you a cheat day.
AAARRRGGHH shook some books around and made himself in a little nest to sit in. Blinky carried a chair over and Alexandra gratefully sank down on it.
"Do you mind if I take some notes," she asked as Blinky made to seat himself. He looked over the top of the book he'd been about to open, and grinned at her.
"Master Alexandra," he said, and handed her a pen and paper. "I do believe you are my favorite Trollhunter this century!"
The Changeling smiled. Just you wait.
.
.
The study session actually became a bit more hectic than Blinky had initially planned, given that most of the books he wanted to explore were in Master Alexandra's room. Despite her undoubtedly aching body, the woman went and retrieved them herself, even stopping to get them all something to eat on the way back. Blinky elected to eat later, when they were not in his library, but the thought was very sweet.
He liked someone who was enthusiastic to learn. AAARRRGGHH was his favorite student and reading buddy; Blinky loved to read aloud, and AAARRRGGHH loved to listen to him, absorbing whatever text Blinky had decided to devour that day. As far as Trollhunters went, there was always decent chance that he would be receiving a new pupil in the fascinating history of trolls and troll lore. The Trollhunter was never just a warrior, but a protector – of people, of their homes, and of their culture and knowledge as well. Kanjigar the Courageous, may the Heartstone ever receive him, had spent many a day sifting through Blinky's personal library, even going so far as to acquire a small collection of his own. That the current Trollhunter was so extremely eager to fill in the gaps in her knowledge was truly exciting.
Blinky mused about the new Hunter while she was gone. He and AAARRRGGHH had chatted several times over the past day on the subject, but it was still a fresh topic, and one that he didn't know much about. He might never have been a warrior, but he'd survived through a war and the devastating aftermath by being observant and quick-thinking. As far as trolls went, odd was a rather common trait, but Alexandra was odd in odd ways.
Her appearance, for one, was startling. As a member of the sister tribe to Blinky's, she was unusually rough-looking, even for a female. While their women had always been the brawnier ones, Alexandra was taller, sharper, and would have been even menacing if not for her softer eyes. She was completely devoid of tattoos, which was just unheard of; did her family completely lack in culture? Did she have no family? And why was she nearly dressed in rags? Trolls – who didn't sweat, didn't shed skin cells like humans – rarely had more than one thing to wear, made of durable materials. The woman was dressed in something thin and ragged, and he wanted to know what exactly had happened to her in the past years. Whatever it was, she clearly had not been properly cared for.
He knew that trolls – and much of everything else – from New Jersey were often strange, but the poor girl had never even grown up with a Heartstone, which was almost unthinkable to Blinky. No wonder the troll was so odd.
He'd had to remind her to use her second pair of arms more than once, as if she forgot they were there. Perhaps she had suffered injuries to them, he'd wondered. And she hardly ever moved her eyes independently, even when it would have been more convenient. Her lower jaw stretched and shifted, as if she was uncomfortable with her own mouth, a tic that Blinky doubted Alexandra noticed. She held herself proudly, tall and unyielding, but there wasn't much that Blinky's gaze missed, and Alexandra's tight eyes betrayed her. She was terrified, and she was very good at hiding it.
He didn't know how old the woman was, or her family history, or even why she had ventured to Arcadia.
The only things he truly knew were things that he had observed; her love of books, her practice with the sword, her discomfort with crowds, and the way she had been drawn to the Heartstone. These things told him more about her than her family history, true, but he still craved the facts and the why's and the what's.
And there was that worrying little situation with Kanjigar…
Alexandra returned with his books, one arm completely empty, and struggled to take notes with her other three hands. Not that Blinky himself was perfectly multidextrous, but even his clan's children could write with two hands at least; Alexandra had trouble even holding the pen.
But she absorbed everything he told her like an enormous teal sponge, and scratched down whatever piqued her interest, which apparently everything.
They spent that second day covering the origin and development of the Trollhunter line and the responsibilities involved, with side-quests into the economics of Heartstone Trollmarket itself and studies of heartstones and other crystals.
What was the word humans used? Ah. Bullshit. Alexandra bullshat well. She had a perfect blank face that she wore when she learned something new, and she wore it so often that Blinky began adding 'of course' and 'naturally' and 'as you know' to parts of his lectures that were common knowledge for every troll, just to see how many things she truly was ignorant about. He was shocked at the result. The poor girl didn't know anything.
She didn't know the healing properties of Heartstones. She didn't know how trolls were made.
In fact, the only thing she knew about was the history and culture of the Darklands, which was…concerning, in the least.
The amulet would never have chosen a Gumm-Gumm, Blinky thought quickly, with an apologetic glance to his friend, who was happily sleeping on his nest of books.
Not…probably.
If she was a reformed Gumm-Gumm, like AAARRRGGHH, wouldn't they have heard of her before? All of Gunmar's horde was trapped in the Darklands, completely unable to escape. She would have had to left the Darklands before the bridge was dismantled, and she didn't look nearly old enough.
The hypothesis partially explained her wilder appearance, but not completely. Gumm-Gumms were famous for being enormous, immensely bulky warriors, and Alexandra was…not. Blinky's clans were not particularly prone to developing warriors, even though they'd had a Trollhunter chosen from their numbers. But Alexandra, though she was fast and had surprisingly good form with a sword, was clearly unused to fighting and was out of shape. Even after several centuries, AAARRRGGHH was still marked with his Gum-Gumm carvings and built up in muscle.
No, Alexandra was not a Gumm-Gumm.
By the end of the day, Blinky had more questions than when he had started, and a headache starting to build. AAARRRGGHH was fast asleep and Alexandra looked about ready to follow him, though she was still diligently jotting down everything he said in her sad little goblin-scratch. She was chewing absently on her pen, the second he'd had to offer her.
Blinky gently closed the tenth book they had explored and set it down with the others, watching the Trollhunter turn the paper to write in the margins.
"Is it terribly late," she murmured.
"Not too terribly," Blinky replied.
"AAARRRGGHH fell asleep," Alexandra said with the ghost of a smile.
"Mmm. Yes. And right in the middle of my reading about the barter systems of the various markets. Economics always make him sleepy."
"I imagine the hero of Killahead would have little use for them. I noticed that a few stalls offered him free wares yesterday."
There! There, that was it! She knew about AAARRRGGHH's history, but didn't know about the migrations?
"AAARRRGGHH is rather too modest about his role in the battle," Blinky said softly, looking over at his friend. "He rarely likes to reminisce on the darker edges of his past."
Alexandra did her blank face, looking as if she was holding back from commenting. Blinky felt a brief stab of protectiveness before he realized that her eyes were sad, not accusing.
The Trollhunter nodded and stood, stretching her back and legs before gathering up her notes. Blinky noticed that she was moving much more smoothly than she had at the beginning of the day.
"Do you need any more medicine?"
Alexandra looked up, surprised, and smiled at him.
"I'll be fine, I think. I just…needed time."
The medicines must have worked extraordinarily well, Blinky thought, if she's healed so well, so quickly.
They parted ways with silent goodbyes. Blinky waited until Alexandra was out of sight before dancing over the books scattered on his floor and digging through a shelf in the far corner, where his brother had kept clan histories and genealogies.
"Daughter of Asphodelus," he muttered to himself, pulling out the registers for his clan and its sister tribe. He waded back through the mess and shooed a few tomes out of the way before leaning against AAARRRGGHH's back and settling down for a long and nostalgic read.
.
.
Okay so the shit with AAARRRGGHH will happen next chapter. I needed to plan this out, and decided to get a bit more into the story before that clusterfuck goes down.
I'm really enjoying having to do research for a fic again. I know more about culverts and hot springs and mineral baths now than I ever needed to know, especially for the, like, three sentences I studied a good forty minutes to use that knowledge in.
AAARRRGGHH said that Blinky trained the last Trollhunter, which was Unkar before Kanjigar, so he's not an established trainer. BUT I headcanon that he trained the Hunters in the lore and history they needed to know, while someone else trained them in the fighting.
It's canon that AAARRRGGHH loves listening to Blinky read, just watch the beginning of 'Gnome Your Enemy', he looks so happy!
Blinky barely entertains the idea of Alex being a Changeling simply because it's too ridiculous. Changelings are lower than anything, lesser than fricking goblins to both trolls and Gumm-Gumms, and the idea of one being elevated to the highest, most esteemed position there is is absolutely ridiculous.
Lol he in for a surprise.
Blinky's quite observant and quick-thinking in canon. I may have amped it up, but I really enjoyed writing in his perspective. I just hope that I kept it close to his character; he's one of my favorites, and I really love the dynamics between him and AAARRRGGHH.
Alex healed faster because she's a Changeling. It's established that troll stuff works differently/stronger on humans, and with Alex being part human it'll be like taking the max of a med for a small hurt. She'll have to be careful not to overdose on things, and giving her a drink will be a disaster.
Idk why but the Hamilton soundtrack is the musical inspiration for this fic. I got into a rut for a few weeks and then I listened to Hamilton again and BOOM. Two chapters.