It hadn't taken long for Kanjigar to arrive for tonight's lesson after you went to wait at the porch. Like usual, he came hopping over the fence and out of the shadows to move toward you under the cool moon, a smile already present on his face.

His amulet shone subtly from the pouch at his hips and the tattooed skin of his burly body had a light glow to it, it seemed. Of course, he didn't actually glow himself. That was just the moonlight reflecting from his stone body.

"Good evening, (Y/n)," the tall troll greeted you, coming to a halt in front of your porch to crouch down.

"Evening, Kanji," you responded, returning his friendly smile and getting up to match the height of his eyes, more or less.

You noticed that he didn't bring any books for you to read while he trained today so you titled your head, a quizzical expression coming over your face.
He quickly saw and caught on, letting out an ominous chuckle.

"I didn't forget the books, I promise," said Kanjigar, sounding pretty genuine, "since you made such progress last time, I thought we could try and spend tonight speaking only in Trollspeak."

You let out a surprised huff. Sure, you were a fast learner when it came to languages but you had also noticed very quickly that Trollspeak was extremely hard for humans to pronounce. Trolls must have some kind of extra vocal chords for all those specific noises and vowels.

"You're not just doing that to make fun of me, right?" raising a suspicious eyebrow, you crossed your arms but kept the smile.

Kanjigar's messy teeth showed a tad more when he grinned, using his mighty hand to pat your shoulder carefully, "It's a lot easier to learn Trollspeak by actually using it… Although I'm sure it will also be very entertaining for me."
Adding the later part with a joking tune, the blue troll got back up and took a few steps away from you. Whether is was to avoid any possible punches from your direction or simply because he wanted to move was unclear.

Before you could retort, Kanjigar waved his hand as if telling you to follow him.

"What do you say to going on patrol while talking?" he offered and you immediately lit up.

You hadn't been in the woods since the day that Bular chased you to that mountain so you were keen on getting the familiar sensation back for at least one night without risking death. Kanjigar would be there to protect you from any gumm-gumm attacks after all.

"Sounds great!" enthusiastically hopping down from the porch to jog up to the trollhunter's side, you couldn't help but feel a little giddy. 

You must've been so excited that you didn't even notice Kanjigar attempting to help you climb over the fence of your backyard. Since you were used to hauling yourself over the barrier, you simply did just that and only realized that the troll was holding out a hand when you were already on the other side, turning back to him.

He looked a little baffled at first, probably not having expected you to leap over a fence that was about the same height as yourself, but soon laughed gently and shook his horned head.
"I keep forgetting you humans are tougher than you look," mumbled Kanjigar, more to himself than to you, and followed suit by pulling his much heavier body over the wooden fence.

For a moment, you were a little worried the structure wouldn't support his weight with how much it creaked and groaned but he had done it plenty of times before so you didn't pay it much mind.

Maybe you should build in a gate somewhere? That would make things a lot easier for his future visits.

While that seemed like a great idea to you at the moment, we all know it would be useless soon enough.

Kanjigar adjusted himself a bit after having climbed over the wooden barrier, threw you a short glance and then began to move into the woods, walking slowly to ensure that you could follow him.

After a moment of nothing but the howling of a coyote far away and some leaves rustling over your heads, you looked up to your trollish companion.

"Any place you had i-??" while you were still speaking, Kanjigar lifted one of his large fingers and gently shushed you. He didn't look panicked so it wasn't that he heard anything in the dark. However you were still a bit confused.

"Trollspeak only from now on," he reminded you with a small smile, lowering his finger again.

You grumbled a bit, trying to collect the words you had already learned to shape a somewhat understandable sentence.

"Hag-hor gedat.. muhl?" you tried saying after a solid minute of thinking, meaning to ask if he had a specific place in mind to which you would go.
The blue troll was quiet for a while, looking at you with a tense expression.

"Na?" 'What?' you asked, not liking the way he seemed to be holding in laughter.
And really, just a moment after, he had to turn away, cover his mouth and wheeze.

Man, what a great start to this lesson.

Looking up at him with a 'really?' expression painted over your face, you gave off a small sigh and rubbed your cheeks. At least he was trying his best not to laugh.

"Tshul, tshul, amno yar," 'Sorry, sorry, I'll stop,' he replied, his deep voice sounding very different all of a sudden now that he was speaking his own language. It was much less clumsy and kind of.. smooth?

The way he pronounced some of these words was impossible for you to copy but it was nice to hear for some reason anyway. As if it had a certain magic to it.

"Jak, fordsen wi k-oil, bertranan" 'Yeah, let's just keep going, hollow head,' you told him while crossing your arms and stepping over a particularly thick root in the ground, enjoying the shock on his face when he heard you use an insult. To be fair, he had muttered it to himself quite often whenever he messed up during his training so you had quickly figured out that it was some kind of insult similar to 'idiot'.

Grinning, you turned back toward the dark forest and took a moment to look around. It had been a while since you were between the trees like this. The crisp night air and the gentle noises of nature were calming and with Kanjigar right besides you, walking slowly, it felt comfortable. 

Was this what 'home' was supposed to feel like?

You shook your head. 
Not the time to think about that kinda stuff now.

The trollhunter lifted a heavy branch for you to slip underneath and followed behind closely.
He spoke up again, his smooth voice rolling over the vowels and words with such grace that you weren't able to pay attention to the context of what he was saying at all.

Upon seeing your dumbstruck face, he repeated himself, this time more slowly and with a clearer voice and you were able to understand that he usually does these patrols on his own before coming to your house every night. At least, that's what you thought he said. It was a bit hard to follow still.

You gave off a small hum, mumbling something among the lines of 'I see, I see' while continuing to walk by his side.

This went on for a while, simply walking, listening to Kanjigar talk in Trollspeak and attempting your best to give coherent answers. Sometimes, the large bull-like troll would stop and correct you, making sure to show you how to move your tongue to get a certain sound right.
Although after the third try of pronouncing the word 'yxom-bze' he must've realized that humans simply weren't able to use their voices in the same way that trolls could.
So instead, he taught you how to dodge around these kinds of words by shortening them or using different ones with similar meanings.

You were just answering to his question of what the sky looked like -he was trying to teach you some basics about colors- when you spotted a certain tree between the others, prompting you to stand still and quiet.

You'd recognize those giant roots and that mighty treetop anywhere. 
It was your tree.The one you had slept under so many countless times and also that one time when you first met Kanjigar.

Said troll noticed you staring at the tree and let out a small chuckle. 'Brings back memories, huh?' he said in Trollspeak, ruffling through your hair with his stony palm, nearly throwing you over and drawing a protesting laugh from you as you pushed his hand away.

"Jak, dru-mo," 'Yeah, it does,' you responded once you were freed of his ruffling. It had grown much easier for you to answer by now.

Moving towards the old tree, you rested a hand on one of the giant roots. The bark was still as rough and comforting as always, increasing the feeling of security.
Kanjigar followed, standing a bit behind you and leaning over your head to take a peek at what you were doing exactly.
You felt his warm and steady breath hit the back of your neck and mess up your (h/l) hair but you didn't say anything against it.

You were about to speak up when you felt his breathing rhythm change, taking on a more subtle and quick pace as if he were trying hard to listen to a far off sound.
Confused, you turned around and looked up, seeing how he carried a very much serious -you'd say even panicked- look in his yellow eyes.

The feeling of security was slowly replaced with worry as Kanjigar lifted a finger and put it over his dark lips, signaling you to be quiet again. This time however, he did look like he heard something. 

He kept glancing from side to side, his left hand hovering above the pouch where his amulet was while his right hand moved to pick you up.
Since he was much larger than you, the blue troll had no issue with lifting you up from the ground using only one hand.

You didn't know what he was planning but you complied anyways, letting your body slip into his hand silently. The warmth and texture of his skin immediately made you feel safer again but you were still a bit unsettled.

What if it was Bular? Would you have to be protected from that smelly brute once more? Even though he agreed not to harm you? 
Perhaps you had been too gullible to think that some random green troll could change the gumm-gumm prince's ways overnight?

You didn't notice it while you were busy slowly panicking in Kanjigar's hold but the trollhunter had taken out his amulet by now. A bright blue light illuminated your surroundings, showing that the amulet's owner was on alert.

Then, Kanjigar lowered his head, taking a few steps to the left while mumbling something into your ear.
"Am yar wo-rin he ho," 'I will throw you upwards,' he whispered quietly, still using Trollspeak. 

Before you had any chance to comprehend or respond, you were already flying up into the air and through a bunch of leaves. Had he not warned you beforehand, you would've screamed. 

You heard Kanjigar say the words he always uses when equipping the amulet and the familiar burst of light enabled you to see that you were currently inside the tree you had just been standing under.

Quickly, you grabbed a thick branch before you could fall down again, holding onto it and pulling yourself up further to lay on the large growth. You were lucky this tree was so old.

You still felt your stomach flutter from the unexpected flight you were just sent on when you peeked down to check on Kanjigar. Your vision was slightly obscured by the fresh leaves that had grown on the tree for the new season. There weren't as many as there could be yet since it was still early spring but they were enough to cover your smaller frame from unwanted attention.

Spotting the glinting silver armor with blue lines below you, you gulped and inched forward a bit to get a better view.

The night was still quiet. 

Maybe a bit too quiet. Usually you'd hear all kinds of small animals bustle about in their nightlife but right now, you couldn't even hear a bug fly through the air.

What did Kanjigar hear that made him so cautious?

It must've been something either extremely quiet or something still further away. Something your human ears couldn't pick up yet.

Focusing back on the trollhunter below you, you saw him take Daylight from his back and get into a fighting stance, further worrying you.

The atmosphere was so tense, you swore that if Kanjigar were to take a swing with his sword, he'd be able to cut the air clean in half.

You swallowed nervously and just as you were thinking about moving further up the tree while you still had time, you heard heavy footsteps approaching. It didn't sound like they were running or charging at Kanjigar but it still made you cower lower against the branch.

Who -or what- in the world was out there?

---

Kanjigar tightened the grip on his sword as he stood below the tree in which his human companion was hidden.
He was mentally scolding himself for bringing her into the woods, when he was fully aware of the dangers, while trying to spot whoever was walking toward him.

Just why did he have to be so reckless? Wasn't he supposed to be the wise protector of everyone? 

What kind of protector willingly exposes someone to a fatal threat? A vulnerable human no less.

Giving off a rough huff that send a steam cloud from his pierced nose, the tall troll narrowed his eyes and stared into the dark.
He'd just have to fight whatever came at him.

Fully prepared to go into battle, the blue troll was rather caught off guard when the wind suddenly changed direction, brushed into his face and carried the scent of someone very much familiar with it. 

It took him a moment to realize.

Lowering Daylight and instead reaching up to rub his face in a tired manner, the trollhunter made a small groan noise.

"What are you doing here," he sighed in Trollspeak, "Draal?"

---

Draal? 

That name sounded familiar. Didn't Kanjigar talk about a troll named Draal a few times before?

Judging by his anticlimactic reaction, it wasn't someone with the intentions of hurting either of you. You relaxed a little and let out a small breath of relief.

Leaning down to get a better look at what was happening, you saw another troll move out of the shadows and into the light of the amulet.

The first thing you noticed were his horns. You had always thought that Kanjigar's were large but this one's were gargantuan in comparison, reaching up way over his head and slightly to the sides as well. They looked like they could easily impale you.

A shiver went down your spine at the thought but you brushed it off to pay attention again.

He had a similar bodybuild to Kanjigar's, broad shoulders and thin hips. Although he seemed to be walking a bit more hunched over due to the large crystal spikes on his back. His looks reminded you a little of a certain blue hedgehog.

This 'Draal' also had a nose piercing like Kanjigar's, giving him the same resemblance to a bull that you had noticed in the trollhunter months ago as well.

Now that you thought about it, apart from some differences, these two were actually looking very alike.

Didn't Kanjigar mention that he had a son?

You had been paying so much attention to the new troll's appearance that you hadn't heard their conversation until now.
Kanjigar sounded a little angry as he spoke, "You're not supposed to come into these woods! What if you run into Bular or his minions?"

Draal seemed even more upset. They must've gotten into an argument without you even noticing. Oops.

"Then I'll fell them like they deserve! You know I'm the best fighter in Trollmarket, father!" the slightly smaller troll responded, confirming your assumption of their relationship.
Gulping anxiously as you listened to them, you felt as though you should cover your ears. It sounded like something private that you weren't supposed to hear after all.

"And what if you run into a human? Are you going to fell those too?" Kanjigar challenged his son, probably mad at him for breaking a rule he had put up, "you can't expect to handle every problem with brute force!"

It looked like Kanjigar had silenced Draal with that argument since the beige-horned troll let out a frustrated grumble and turned his head away. You felt a little bad for him but also couldn't blame Kanjigar for being on edge.
He was, after all, standing right below one of those humans he had spoken about.

You heard the spiked troll mumble something but it was inaudible from where you were at right now.
However, Kanjigar seemed to have also noticed and prompted his son to speak up.

Draal turned his head back to face his father, carrying an expression of suspiciousness.
"You've been acting strange lately," he said again, this time loud enough to hear for both you and Kanjigar, "you never borrowed books from the library to take on patrol before. What do you need the troll lore for in a fight? Boring your enemy to death?"

Gesturing around in an agitated manner while he spoke, the shorter troll huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the trollhunter.

Now Kanjigar seemed to be a little taken aback. He probably didn't expect to be asked something like that by his own son.
After a moment of them just staring at each other, the older troll finally answered.

"I just like to read sometimes," he said, nearly drawing a yell from you at how bad of a lie that was. 
However Draal didn't seem to be the brightest either, seeing how his reaction was much calmer than expected. He was probably more brawn than brain.

"Oh," he made, dropping his hands back to his sides and staying awkwardly quiet. 

Neither of them appeared to know how to communicate with each other properly. It was almost painful to watch.

Were they really father and son?

Well, not like you were one to talk about the relationship between father and child.

"Either way, Draal," Kanjigar spoke up again, "you don't need to worry about how I do my duties."
He hesitated a moment before placing his hand on Draal's shoulder like he often did to you as well, "return to Trollmarket now. I still have a patrol to finish."

The younger troll glanced at the trollhunter in his shiny armour and then nodded. He took a moment longer before he turned and wandered into the woods again, his heavy footsteps slowly fading until they were gone, leaving only the same silence as before.

Below you, Kanjigar let out a heavy breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting his armor fade away again.

You were still a little stiff from the rather unpleasant experience of their fight but you were also glad that it hadn't been anything worse.
Who knew where you would be now if that had been Bular and not Draal.

"Are you ok up there, (Y/n)?" the trollhunter called up to you, storing his amulet away again.
You pushed back a bunch of leaves to be able to show your face when you called back down, "yup. Still kicking."

Seeing him lift his hands, you smiled and slipped off of the branch to let yourself fall into Kanjigar's arms, who caught you carefully and kneeled down to let you back onto the grassy ground.

He kept kneeling for a moment, looking at you with a serious expression.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," apologized the troll, speaking in English again and sounding genuinely upset about the encounter.

You shook your head and gave an unsure smile, "don't worry. Family can be complicated."

Putting a spin to your usual interactions, you were the one to reach out and pat his shoulder this time. His skin was still as warm and rough as you remembered, the tattoo-like markings feeling somewhat ticklish on your softer palm.
It felt like you were petting a rock. Which you kind of were. In a way, at least.

Kanjigar sighed again, this time smiling lightly and putting his hand over your own smaller one. He didn't say anything but his eyes held gratitude for understanding his situation.

Then he got back up and you pulled your hand away again.
"I think it's best for you to return to your nest now," he told you, nodding toward the direction from which you had come from, "you've made enormous progress with Trollspeak today. Good job."

The simple praise made you warm up and suppress a silly smile. Instead, you nodded your head and began walking back toward where your house was. Kanjigar followed you, soon catching up and walking by your side once more.

It was a comfortable silence that surrounded you two, making it easy to think and also enjoy the company despite the rather tense moment with Draal.
You really wanted to ask about him but also didn't want to put your mentor on the spot. He wasn't one to talk about his private life after all.

Deciding to find out more next time you'd meet up with Kanjigar, you settled with relishing in the nice atmosphere for the rest of the way.

If only you had known that the next time you'd meet Kanjigar wouldn't be like usual. 

Because next time you'd meet him would be the last you ever saw him alive again.