Party Monster
AO3 Link Phase 2 - Chapter 26 - Episode 21
The forge seemed to glow as Jim and I trained. Daylight cutting through magic-filled bubbles. The past Trollhunters stressed that Jim needed training against multiple opponents, and Blinky came up with using my bubbles as a safe training exercise.
I focused my magic on creating and moving the bubbles to chase Jim. Mana control was key here, creating the bubbles was the easy part, sending them after Jim took a little while to figure out. I had to feel as if I was the one chasing him, air moving past me, and the feel of hitting his armor when the bubble burst. If I was able to hit the armor the Bubble stained the metal blue or orange, if Daylight cut through my bubbles, some of the staining would vanish, this allowed Blinky and Draal to assess where Jim was letting his guard down and how to amend his form in battle.
“River!” Jim screeched as I created an air tunnel, sending the bubbles after him in a mini-tornado, “Now you’re just being mean!”
“Never know what Angor Rot will try,” I laughed out, trying to come up with the weirdest scenarios Jim might have to fight his way through. “Never know, he might have more magic than the Shadow Staff and those golems!”
Jim glared over his shoulder before a spark of mischief came to life, smirking, he quickly dodged the bubble twister, running around the perimeter of the forge and heading directly for Blinky, Draal, and I.
Draal stiffened realizing what Jim was planning, he lined up with Blinky so when Jim ran past, Blinky was doused in blue and orange magic.
I doubled over, laughing hard as Blinky stuttered looking over his now colorful form. The rest of the bubbles burst as I lost my concentration, little fireworks of orange and blue lighting the forge as they dissipated.
Disgruntled, Blinky tried wiping the colors off, “Very amusing Master Jim. Using your opponent’s attacks on their allies is a good strategy, though neither one would be standing still on the battlefield.”
Draal snickered, wiping off what little magic had hit him while using Blinky as a shield. “Gotta admit, looks better than your fleshbag form.”
Jim laughed, letting the armor disappear as we all settled back into the forge. “Hey, if I can avoid River’s crazy attacks, I think I’ll be able to prepare for anything.”
I shrugged, flicking my hand out towards Blinky, dispelling the magic from his skin and clothes. “Sorry Blink, orange really isn’t your color.”
“So, this is how the Trollhunter trains?” A voice from the bridge called out.
My head snapped to the exit of the forge, spotting Eemeli and Eri followed by a troll, no, a changeling, the same one in the locket resting under the chest plate of my armor. Garridan had returned with them.
Jim quickly sobered, standing in line with me as we watched them enter the forge. I could feel the tension building in him as Garridan slowly approached us, eyeing Draal and Blinky. Eemeli and Eri stayed near the exit, watching on as the Changeling General observed us, waiting.
“Garridan,” I choked out, I may have asked for his help, but after all these years I still wasn’t sure how to react to seeing him again.
A small smile broke over his face as he shifted into his human form, finally stopping in front of Jim and me, “If it wasn’t for your eyes, you could pass for your mother.”
“You actually came,” Jim began, like myself, he was unsure how to continue.
“Angor Rot has been set free, and he’s hunting you both,” Garridan’s smile quickly fell to a frown, “and you’re preparing with bubbles?”
My jaw clenched tight, that’s really the first thing he says? Draal saw the shift in my demeanor and quickly stood to my left, prosthetic hand clasping my shoulder carefully, explaining the training. “Training with multiple opponents or projectiles.”
“And the tornado?” Garridan asked, having seen Jim use it to attack Blinky.
“Considering we have little to no knowledge of Trolls let alone what Angor Rot is capable of? Better be prepared.” Jim ground out.
“I’m working on mana control since,” the words seemed to tumble from my mouth, I felt an odd need to explain my antics to this Changeling in front of me. Regardless of him being my father, he hadn’t raised me and I didn’t owe him an explanation, so why was I anxious about it.
“Interesting use of your magic,” He nodded to me, unsure himself of how to continue, “I was told your trainers were trolls. Are these the human friends the hunter spoke of?”
“Eemeli,” I glared at my father, “Eemeli told you about our friends then?”
Tilting his head slightly, Garridan seemed a little surprised at my correction, “Yes, Eemeli spoke of your friends and training on our way here. He mentioned that few changelings and humans were allowed in Trollmarket.”
I nodded stiffly, “Draal,” I gestured to him on my left, “and Blinky, are trolls, they were unfortunately doused in potions from Gatto’s Keep, this being the result.”
Garridan tilted his head towards Draal, eyeing him as I spoke of our first quest for the Triumbric Stones. “Draal, son of Kanjigar?”
Draal’s prosthetic left my shoulder, holding his hand out to Garridan, “Yes, my father was the previous Trollhunter.”
Garridan eyed the hand before glancing between Draal and myself, waiting.
Folding my arms over my chest, directly looking in his eyes I chose to rip the bandage off, “Draal is my mate.”
Pausing at the information, we could see the gears turning as Garridan took in my stance as well as my words, “I see,” finally taking Draal’s hand to shake, “I remember you from Dwoza, a strong match.”
Draal seemed to relax a little, “The battle of Killahead, you lead the Changelings along with Moonlight.”
Garridan smirked, something about the statement amused him, “Yes, Moonlight. It’s been a long time since the changelings have heard that name. Though I’m sure you two have other questions,” he deflected, turning to Jim and me.
“I can think of a few,” Jim spoke, sarcasm dripping in from his anger at both of our dads.
“Why don’t we start with my age?” I asked, Jim’s tension bleeding into my own. “As far as I know I’m 19, the locket you sent is over 900 years old, so you can imagine my confusion.”
“Hmm, you’re not far off. You’d be in your mid-30s now.” Garridan answered, only feeding my confusion.
“How is that possible?” I asked, irritated at having more questions than answers again.
“You don’t remember,” it wasn’t a question, Garridan seemed to realize just how in the dark I truly was.
“Considering my first memory is you leaving me with Uncle Jim and Aunt Barbara? No, I don’t remember.”
Humming in consideration, Garridan asked, “Do you know the magic Merlin specialized in?”
“Harnessing daylight? I’ve been told his family is the only ones with that ability.” I asked, confused how daylight would have anything to do with my age.
“No, that is true, but Merlin specialized in Time Magic,” Garridan began to explain, a painful sigh escaping him, “During the battle of Killahead, the Eldritch Queen attacked, Merlin and Ganieda were left to fight her. She,” he ground his teeth, “her attack hit Ganieda, Moonlight arrived and magic clashed. When you add the magic of four powerful beings together, unpredictable chaos ensues. There was a tear, so to speak, between the battle, and Arcadia. The Eldritch Queen tried to distract Merlin by sending you through the tear, I followed after you.”
I paled, thinking back to the nightmares of falling from the clouds and the visions the pixies conjured, dad’s troll form holding me tight as we fell through the sky. “That wasn’t a hallucination, it was a memory,” I whispered, eyes burning as a splitting pain ran through my head. I doubled over clutching my head, the memories from the final fight, the Eldritch Queen’s magic ripping through my mother, her form breaking as cracks of gold shattered her. “She died.”
Garridan knelt in front of me, holding my shoulders tight. “She was felled that night, yes.”
Tears began to fall as I ripped myself from his grip. I felt the air shift and found myself running up the crystal stairs to the exit of the Trollmarket. Not stopping to pull out the horngazel, I flashed to the canal and kept going, gold and green flooded my vision as the fight dominated my mind. A burst of orange startled me, stopping just short of running into Claire’s front door. I scrubbed at my face trying to pull myself together as I could hear arguing coming from inside.
The door tore open, Claire facing someone in the house as she spoke, “See, there’s no one here!”
“Check again, sponge face,” NotEnrique snorted, seeing my disheveled state caused him to clamp up quickly.
Claire about jumped out of her skin when she finally turned and saw me there, “River!” Taking in the tear stains down my face she pulled me into the house, “What happened? You look miserable.”
“I… my…” I couldn’t find the words as she guided me to the sofa, pulling me down with her.
“Take your time,” she spoke softly, holding my hands tight. NotEnrique disappeared into the kitchen, the sound of him rifling through the fridge grounding my thoughts.
“Eemeli found my dad,” I finally got out, squeezing Claire’s hands carefully. “He’s here.”
“Are you okay?” Claire stiffened, unsure if I was upset over his presence or something he said.
“Don’t know, everything got fuzzy, couldn’t tell where I was.” I sighed, the tears finally stopping, I pulled a hand from her grip as I scrubbed at my face again. “We didn’t talk much but, what we did talk of,” I trailed off, if I said it aloud it felt final.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” She smiled softly, pulling her phone out. “You guys were supposed to come over anyway, do you want me to cancel it before girls’ night? I can let Jim know you’re here, or not.”
I shook my head quickly, “We need a plan to get that damn ring from Strickler. This,” I gestured to myself, “this needs to wait.” At this point, I wasn’t sure who I was telling, Claire or myself.
“Okay,” Claire dialed Jim’s number quickly. When he answered I could make out the panic in his voice but the words were jumbled as other voices began speaking over each other. Claire sighed, rolling her eyes at the phone, “She’s here, in one piece,” I could hear Draal’s worried voice cut through. “She’s okay for now, still wants to plan with you, Jim, and Toby tonight, after that I’m keeping her here for girls’ night.” Another pause as Jim’s voice took over the conversation. “See you soon.” She hung up quickly, leaving no room for the others to argue.
“That sounded chaotic,” I chipped in, eyeing her phone.
“Blinky said Draal and Jim tore through Trollmarket trying to find you. Garridan, your dad, is staying back with Blinky to help them research the Triumbric Stones and give them insight into Angor Rot. Jim and Draal are going to pick up Toby on their way over.”
I nodded slowly, wincing as I could hear Vendel’s lecture about Draal and Jim causing havoc in Trollmarket to look for me. “Thanks, Claire.”
“You sure you’re alright, from their reactions it sounds like it was pretty bad,” She frowned, putting her phone away as we waited for the boys.
I pulled out the locket from my shirt, holding it tight, “My mom, she died in the Battle of Killahead, I was there.”
“You remember seeing it happen,” She stated peering at the locket.
My knuckles turned white as I tightened my grip, “Yeah, the memory is still blurry but it’s there, I just,” sighing out, I finally eased my grip, “I guess with finding out about my parents, I had hoped she was still around.”
I found myself engulfed in a tight hug; Claire’s grip would’ve been painful had she been hugging a human. “You don’t have to explain, just know we’re here for you. I’m here for you.” She smiled softly, pulling away.
Smiling myself, I nodded, grateful that Claire knew about Jim and me, having another friend outside of the trolls and Toby to speak with.
The boys tumbled into the house as NotEnrique threw the door open, laughing as they hit the floor. “What ya’ tryin’ to do? Take out the door?”
Jim huffed, currently at the bottom of the pile, “haha, NotEnrique, where is she?”
“If you mean me, I’m right here,” I quipped, eyeing the pile as Draal, Toby, and Jim began to detangle themselves.
“How did you get out of Trollmarket?” Jim asked, passing my bag over once he was standing, “You left the horngazel.”
Taking the bag, I paused, staring at the key to Trollmarket in thought, “I, uh… teleported I think?”
“I thought you couldn’t do that between the barrier?” Draal asked, knowing I hit the wall instead of making it into the underground city before.
“Leveled up?” I asked, unsure myself. “Don’t know, just kept running.”
He nodded, dropping the subject. He knew if I said I didn’t know how I did it, I meant it. “So, we’re trying to figure out how to get the Inferna Copula from Strickler?”
Time seemed to rush by as Claire herded us up to her room. We kept going over different situations and scenarios, each one more ridiculous than the next. “Quick, cut off his hand!” Claire yelped.
“Wait!” I snapped, grabbing the others' attention, “we can’t cut his hand off.”
“Yeah!” Toby piped in, “If you chop his hand off, you chop your mom’s hand off!”
Jim groaned, head falling into his hands, “Right, Angor Rot’s binding spell. We aren’t ready at all.”
“Yeah, the closest one is River and she’s more liable to blow up a wall.” Toby snickered.
“Hey, it’s the wall or your face, take your pick,” I snarked, whacking him with a collapsed Midnight.
Claire sighed, getting us back on topic, “Angor Rot said if you don’t get the ring, he’s coming back for you.”
Toby chuckled, “We’ll figure it out,” he grinned as we all got up to head downstairs with the sunset. “It’s not like we don’t have a secret city under our feet filled with crazy troll magic!”
Draal shook his head, “Magic you don’t know how to use,” he snickered at Toby, bringing him back down to reality.
Jim smiled, shaking his head at Toby, “You could always come back with us,” he spoke to Claire and me.
“Sorry, having a girlss’ night with Mary and Darci, gotta keep up appearances,” she grinned.
“Oooh, I like a good pillow fight,” Toby grinned, Jim slapping a hand over his mouth before he could say anything else.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” I smirked, kissing Draal’s cheek before the guys took off. “Training with pillows?” I snickered at Claire.
She burst into laughter as closed the door, “Not likely, we’d have to talk Mary into it,” she was cut off by the blender turning on in the kitchen. “What is that monster up to?”
Laughing as I followed her stomping form, I asked “Smoothies?”
“New recipe,” NotEnrique called out, grinning at us as he added another sock.
“Just because my parents are gone, doesn’t give you free run of the house. Darci and Mary are on their way.”
“Oh, come on! I’m tired of playing crib rat!” NotEnrique snarled, downing the contents of the blender, “I’m the one puttin’ my neck on the line sidin’ with you against Gunmar, and for what? Come on, I’m way more fun than a couple of fleshbags!”
Sighing, I started picking up the mess NotEnrique had made in the kitchen, unsure about stepping in the argument between him and Claire. It escalated pretty quickly as she snatched NotEnrique up by the scruff and took him upstairs, both still arguing the entire time.
Claire came back down after a while muttering ‘I hate you,’ as we cleaned the kitchen, disposing of the foul concoction in the blender.
Once we finished cleaning, she sighed, sitting at the counter while I leaned against it across from her, “Want to talk about it?” I asked, seeing the conflict running across her face.
“Why did Enrique have to be taken? Why do I have to deal with that, that,” She threw her hands out towards the stairs, irritated.
“Monster?” I asked, feeling the sting from her comment about NotEnrique earlier, pushing it aside, knowing Claire was just frustrated with him.
“I,” She winced at the word, “just, I know if he up and left my parents would freak out, but having to deal with him?”
“You miss Enrique, and having NotEnrique around is just emphasizing he’s missing,” Frowning, I understood why she was so agitated.
“Are we ever going to get him back?” Claire softly spoke, staring at her clasped hands.
I walked around the island, hugging her from the side, careful not to crush her. “If I have to go into the Darklands myself to get him. Jim promised we’d find him, and if anyone can save him, we can. All of us together.” Smiling softly as she seemed to calm at my answer.
“Right, we just need to focus on getting the ring, if we can do that, we can storm the Darklands,” she chuckled, perking up a bit, knowing Jim and I would do everything in our power to help her and Enrique.
“Don’t touch me scruff,” screeched out from the sound system in the living room, the bass causing the walls to vibrate.
“What the heck?!” Claire cried out, both of us running to find NotEnrique playing a mixtape, drink in hand.
“Hey, how do I turn the subwoofers up on this thing?” He asked, ignoring Claire’s glare.
“My friends are going to be here any minute! Baby up and get back in your crib!” She snapped, cutting off at the doorbell, “Now.” She ground out, going to the front door, expecting Mary and Darci, “Hey ladies,” she greeted, though no one was there.
“I’ve got it!” NotEnrique called, slipping past me into the kitchen and opening the back door, all sorts of Trolls began piling into the house, the music turning up quickly as a party broke out around us.
“You’re not having a party!” Claire growled, storming over to NotEnrique.
He grinned, sipping on the bright green mix drink, “From the looks of it, I am. What time are yer friends showin' up?”
Claire paled, running out of the kitchen and trying to make it up the stairs on her phone, most likely calling Mary and Darci to call off girls’ night.
I sighed trying to avoid getting shoved by the trolls still filing into the house, getting to the counter where NotEnrique was hosting. “This isn’t going to end well,” I spoke, having to raise my voice as someone figured out the subwoofers, increasing the music volume drastically.
“Yeah, but it’s fun watching sponge face panic!” He cackled, handing me a new drink, this one bright pink, “Quagawumps brought this, might be more to yer taste!”
Frowning slightly, I took the drink as he jumped off, going to talk to a group of trolls setting up a bathtub in the living room. Sipping at the drink it tasted oddly of strawberries and pomegranate, though once it hit my throat there was an obvious burning.
I wondered around the party, meeting a bunch of new trolls. Some trolls I had seen in Trollmarket, some of the species I had never seen at all. Things began to get a little hazy as I finished off the pink drink, another Quagawump tossing me a bright orange drink this time. Citrus flavor exploded in my mouth as I tasted the new drink. I could feel a dull burning in my eyes as the glamor from the collar dropped, my Trollish features coming out. The Quagawumps and the trolls from Trollmarket seemed to ease once the glamour dropped, getting more excited as I joined in their games.
“Horns?!” Claire’s voice screeched through the haze I felt. “Since when did you have horns?”
I tilted my head in confusion as I realized she was talking to me, “What are you talking about?” Reaching up my hand brushed against something hard protruding from the crown of my head, “Oh, shit.” It was all I could think of, reaction numbed from the haze spreading through my veins.
Claire threw her hands up, running after NotEnrique again as Arrrgh, Draal, and Eemeli showed up. “Thank goodness, you’re here!”
Arrrgh greeted her but quickly walked off, going after the tub full of Glug; Draal and Eemeli quickly finding me but cheering as Arrrgh downed the entire tub worth of liquid, letting out a loud roar as more drinks were passed around.
“Having fun without out us?” Eemeli snickered, downing the glass he was given, knocking it in cheers with Draal’s after.
“Your glamour dropped,” Draal gestured, eyeing the new additions on top of my head.
“Cool, right?” I laughed, relaxing fully once they arrived, the panic I had once felt about shifting into a troll was either numbed at the moment or non-existent. “What’s next? Growth spurt?” I snickered, raising my glass from the top of my head to about 7ft high. “Maybe a tail!” I double over, laughing at the thought of trying to hide a tail.
Draal smiled, seeming to be fine with how I was taking the changes, “I could see the height change, don’t know bout a tail though.” He snickered, grabbing more drinks as a troll changed the music, everyone jumping to the beat.
Arrrgh grabbed my hand, spinning me as we danced. The music, drinks, and cheers seemed to blur. At one point we ended up around a table playing ‘spin the gnome.’ I cackled when Eemeli’s spin landed on Draal and they both started gagging at the thought, both downing glasses of Glug over kissing.
“River!” Claire yelled over the music, trying to pull me from the game, “We need to get them out of here! Mary and Darci are here!”
“Awesome!” I yelled back, my mind too fuzzy to realize that was a bad thing, “They’re gonna have so much fun!” I cheered, the trolls around me breaking into a chant as they began to set up a punching game.
“Get in this!” Eemeli yelled, pulling me back into the crowd as Arrrgh punched a troll, the baby swing wrapped around his head pulling him right back into Arrrgh’s fist, knocking him out.
“My turn!” I yelled, skin fully turning dark blue as Arrrgh and I lined up with each other. Draal raised his glass, counting down. Once he dropped the glass, Arrrgh and I ran full force at each other, tilting our heads down, horns met horns stopping us both in our tracks. I grinned, an orange glow filling the lines running along my limbs as I poured magic into them, I pushed forward and Arrrgh began slipping back.
Before we could keep going, Claire broke us off, lecturing on how we both should know better, pausing slightly as she took in my form. “Go look in a mirror, maybe you’ll sober up.” She ground out, grabbing the baby swing from the passed-out troll before disappearing again.
I snicked at Arrrgh before running to the bathroom, might as well follow orders. I paused at the image before me. A troll, no, changeling, the sclera was off, was staring back. Dark blue stone skin, dark horns, black mane surrounding the face, sky blue eyes surrounded by red and orange sclera. Looking down where my hands gripped the sink, dark blue stone where flesh had been met my eyes, little lines seemingly carved into the stone filled with orange as my magic pulsed. “Oh shit,” I gasped out, realizing what had unnerved Claire. I had shifted, standing back I whacked my head on the light fixture, realizing why Draal had joked about my height, I was already getting taller.
Draal paused at the doorway, watching my expression in the mirror silently. He seemed calm enough, this was going to happen eventually, right?
“So, this is new,” finally finding my voice, I turned to face him, the haze still holding onto my mind. “What ya think?” I grinned, spinning around.
He chuckled, setting the drinks down, “I think the Quagawumps made really strong drinks.”
I snicked, leaning against him as we finally walked out of the bathroom, grinning like idiots. “I’ve got horns,” I doubled over, bursting out in full laughter, Draal easily supporting me as we tried to make our way through the party.
The music stopped dead as red and blue lights filled the window, sirens filling the dead air as every troll and changeling froze.
“We know you’re having an awesome party in there, but we’re havin' to shut ya down,” A familiar voice called from outside.
Eemeli found Draal and I, “Run!” He yelled jarring everyone into motion, as we began to disperse, trying to get out of the house as fast as possible. Eemeli shifted, Draal helping him to get me on his back when I couldn’t keep up, not used to my new form at all, they took off out the back door, running for Trollmarket.
All three of us were cheering and laughing as we barreled into the canal with the other trolls, running off to find somewhere else to party in the market. Draal and Eemeli broke off from the group, heading to Blinky’s library.
I burst into laughter at the state the boys were in, books were thrown everywhere, Toby and Jim cleaning while Blinky and Garridan were discussing something over a book. “The hell happened here?”
Toby turned to snark, his jaw dropping at the sight of us, “Whaaaa?” His mouth opened and closed.
“What in Gorgus happened?” Blinky began to fret, rushing towards us, “Lady River?” He asked, making sure it was actually me.
Snickering, I flashed from Eemeli’s back to one of the seats, “Present and dizzy!”
Jim’s wide eyes were hilarious as everything became a bit blurrier. “What happened? Was it Angor?”
“Bright pink Quagawump drinks!” I grinned, spinning in the chair, “Trolls know how to party!”
“NotEnrique actually threw a party?! Oh no, what about Claire’s friends?” Jim asked, grabbing my shoulders, trying to keep me focused.
“No idea never saw Mary or Darci,” Eemeli answered, “Everyone took off when the ‘cops’ showed up,” he snickered, using air quotes when he said ‘cops.’
“The po-po showed up?” Toby asked, bouncing as he wanted to ask about the party.
“If NotEnrique works for them!” I laughed, leaning my head on Jim’s shoulder, starting to tire out.
“You can shift?” Garridan’s voice cut through, all laughter dying out.
I glanced up over Jim’s shoulder, shrugging slightly, “Nope, this is new.”
“Did they give you any other drinks?” He asked, voice going stern.
I pointed at his blurry figure, giving my best glare. “Oh no you don’t,” I growled out, “You don’t get to leave for 15 years and come back to play dad. I had fun, so what?”
Draal shook his head heading over to me, “Love, what did you drink before you changed?” He asked softly, sobering up quicker than I was.
Pouting, I thought back to the drinks the Quagawumps kept handing out. “Orange, I think. It was very bright.”
“Grave sand mixers,” Garridan groaned, rubbing his temples, still a bit shocked at my outburst. “That’s the cause for the change.”
“They dug up a body?!” I shrieked, freaked out hugging Draal tight.
Blinky shook his head, “No, no. Vendel explained that Grave Sand was something Changelings used to help them ‘shake off’ their human form.”
“Except it’s dangerous if you don’t know how to use it,” Eemeli growled out, irritated that the Quagawumps would be using something like that in their drinks.
“Quagawumps know how to brew grave sand into other things, they usually use them at parties,” Garridan spoke up, “The change won’t be permanent, especially with the collar’s glamour.”
I rolled my eyes, Draal keeping me upright as I leaned into him, the blur slowly fading as the drinks wear off. “So, this is what I’m supposed to look like?”
Garridan nodded, eyeing the orange glow of my markings, “Though that is different, you’re magic used to be blue.”
“It seemed to change when she absorbed magic from the Heartstone,” Blinky explained, examining my new troll form as well, prodding carefully at the lines. “Anything burning?”
I opened my mouth to respond before pausing, tilting my head in thought, “No… my eyes don’t even burn.”
“Looks like fully shifting allowed the stone to develop,” Blinky nodded, letting go of the arm he was looking over.
Gun Robot 3 filled the room as Jim’s phone went off, “Claire!” I yelped, the nights' events fully coming back to me, “Oh no, Darci and Mary!”
Jim quickly answered the phone putting her on speaker, “Hey, are you okay?”
Claire’s voice filled the library, “NotEnrique was able to shut down the party, Mary and Darci never saw the trolls so I think they’re good, though now they think I’m dating some college guy. Any word on River? Last I saw her and Arrrgh were locking horns.”
Jim looked at me confused, “Draal and Eemeli brought her to Trollmarket, don’t know when she’ll be leaving at this point.”
“Still blue?” Claire asked, finding the entire situation hilarious now that the risk of Mary and Darci finding out about trolls was gone.
“Still blue,” I groaned, rubbing my head where Arrrgh and I were competing. “Sorry Claire, if a troll tries handing me something bright to drink, blast it away.”
“I’ll keep that in mind!” She laughed, “Everything here has been taken care of, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jim ended the call with Claire, turning to face me again. “Who won?”
That cause everyone to burst out laughing again, the rest of the night’s haze from exhaustion.