Starting his morning off well, Jim was quite happy, excitedly rambling and talking to his friends through classes, The young Changeling was bored through most of his classes, only paying attention in Strickler's class, just because it was his mentor's class. The three teenagers were bored and tired, going through classes with a sense of barely kept back exhaustion. Training in both combat and magic was quite hard and very tiring, especially when using magical weapons, which stayed enchanted by it's user's soul energy.

They spent their evening hours juggling their human and magical lives, trying to study it all properly and having sleepovers, swapping stories with Douxie, Archie and the trolls. Today was similar, and they were desperate to get out of school. It was Jim's birthday, and they had multiple things planned today.

When they finally were able to get out of school, they rushed out of their classes and ran straight to their lockers in the courtyard, joking and laughing with each other.

"Ok, so you weren't here for this. But one day we were cleaning Blinky's study, and Toby wanted to figure out a way to go faster so we went to Rott Gutts for ingredients after finding this potion that would help us read trollish better. It didn't really work, but it instead made Toby a knowledge god! He was just eating words and reciting everything I asked him to!" Jim grinned as he retold the story, preening at the laughter he heard from Claire and the groan of mortification from Toby. He started laughing, holding the two in a tight hug around the shoulders. The three stopped when they saw Douxie, who was parked outside the school by their bikes, resting on the bike locks and petting Archie, who was sitting on the motorcycle seat. Jim was the first to run over to Douxie, grinning so fully that the very back of his teeth showed off his fangs. The wizard gently ruffled his hair, laughing in surprise at the strength of the hug as he was picked up and squeezed until he couldn't breathe.

"J- Jim! Jim! Let go of me you little troll!" Douxie coughed while forcibly patting Jim's back, struggling in the hug and faking a scowl. Once put down, Douxie took a deep inhale before starting to laugh, only laughing harder when Jim blushed and shyly apologized.

"Sorry Douxie..."

"It's alright mate, now!" With a clap, Douxie turned and picked Archie up, depositing him carefully into Jim's arms. The three teens pet the black cat, smiling at the pleased purrs they got in return.

"What's the birthday boy want to do?"

————

Hanging out in the forest, was something the young group of trollhunters weren't really expecting. But Jim had suggested a group camping trip during the weekend, to get them used to working with their environments, since they currently had great weather.

It was spontaneous, but Jim was certainly loved enough to get them to do it. It was settled on the cliff overlooking Arcadia, the small group huddled together by a fire manned by Archie as Jim and Douxie Worked on pitching up tents, Toby and Claire fixing food. Hot dogs and burgers, laid on a miniature grill that Jim had gotten as a Christmas gift one holiday. They worked in solitude, their presence close by to support if any of of them were in danger.

The tents were pitched up and Jim grinned, having shifted to his troll form once they were safely on the cliff. He was bouncing around, shifting on the balls of his feet. He was bored, trying to keep his energy from getting the better of him. He was young, and whelps had energy that could last for days. He didn't get a lot of chances to let out though, so he was excited to play a bit with his pack.

Douxie was the first, knocking him over with a light push. It earned a laugh from Jim, his tail wagging slightly behind him as he got up and lunged at the wizard, moving slow enough for him to dodge and react with spells. It tickled mostly, as he was picked up and carefully dropped far away. Sure, they were being too gentle, but the jumping around was still extremely fun!

Jim kept laughing, a tusk filled smile on his face as he hopped up into the trees, sticking his tongue out at Douxie in silent challenge.

"Come and get me, bus boy." Claire and Toby snorted with laughter by the fire, Toby recording their play fight on his phone as Claire leaned against him for support, having become a giggling mess.

Douxie scoffed, grabbing a stray rock and wrapping it in his magic before throwing it right at Jim's forehead with terrifying accuracy. The young Changeling whined, his claws digging into the branch before he jumped to another branch, laughing in excitement as Douxie climbed up after him, using his magic to build platforms to jump onto branches to follow after Jim.

With Douxie and Jim distracted, Archie sat with Claire and Toby, who focused on making the food as they waited for the return of the wizard and troll.

————

Jim was swinging through the branches with ease, finding himself way ahead of Douxie. He was in the woods, searching through the trees for his friend. He took a sniff, frowning when he couldn't find his brother anywhere. He climbed up to the top of the tree, hoping to see the campsite and only coming out with nothing. He growled in frustration, annoyed.

"Claire? Douxie? Toby?! Where did you go?" Jim cried out, hoping his call would lead him back to his friends. No response, until he heard a loud screech from behind him.

Confused, he turned just in time to see a large flying creature grab him by his arms and hoist him up into the air, carrying him without difficulty up into the sky.

Panicking, the young Trollhunter kicked and struggled, trying to claw and snap at his assailant. He didn't know what it was, but it was most certainly dangerous. In his panic, the armor was summoned along with his sword, and he tried swinging himself to angle his sword into the creature. After a few tries, he managed to stab the thing. He just, didn't plan for the free fall.