It had already been a few days since that one weird night and things were… well, either unusual or like always. There was no in between.

Once you had went to school with Toby after staying at his place, you had returned to Thomas' side simply because you weren't sure if Jim would approve of your semi-rediscovered friendship with his best friend.
But when the short teen had come strolling right up to you during lunch with the black-haired boy in tow, you didn't have much of a choice in the matter.
Even Thomas had seemed happy to have two possibly new buddies at the table.
Meanwhile Jim had looked just as uncomfortable as you felt the whole time but then he gradually started to warm up to the situation, unlike yourself.

It felt strange to you that they were just talking like nothing ever happened between you.
But who were you to forbid Thomas to make friends?
At least he had seemed happy.

Mainly keeping out of the conversations, you had stayed in the background of the newly formed group, strictly avoiding any contact, with Jim especially.
You hadn't noticed it then but he had been rather hurt at that.

Other than that, you had also avoided your father. He had been sober enough to remember when you returned home that day and his regular rude behavior was met with your cold shoulder.
You were aware that he didn't have much control over his emotions when he was drunk but that wasn't an excuse for him to just let them run wild and give up trying to control them.
His weakness disgusted you.
After all, as a father, he was supposed to be your role model.
But that wasn't anything new to you.

Your thoughts still went back to that moment in the woods all the time too.
The glowing metal armour, the blue mist that rose from the large sword, his piercing yellow eyes and large horns.
They kept flashing into your head but each time they did, you wondered more and more if you hadn't just dreamt it.
What if you had simply fallen, hit your head and hallucinated because of Thomas' story earlier that day?

So, of course, you hadn't told anyone about it.
You might not be a genius but you weren't that stupid either.

Ugh, this was making you feel crazy.

If you would've known that those crazy memories would be refreshed soon enough though, perhaps you wouldn't have went to your teakwondo training this evening.

---

After you had gotten your butt handed to you by one of your seniors and the training ended, you were now on the way back to Arcadia Oaks, driving through the woods as the sun was setting behind some flat mountains and high hills.
The faint light still fell on your form, covered in the driving gear for motorcycles.
Usually you wouldn't wear it but it had been a bit colder today so you thought it to be more comfortable. Not to mention much safer too.

Good thing you did because it was going to save your life.

The (c/o/c) motorcycle shot over the asphalt and past the darkening trees.
It was peaceful and the rumbling of your machine was the only audible noise for you, filling your ears pleasantly like a large cat's purring.
All other noises were muffled or completely blocked by the thick helmet that covered your head entirely.
If your body hadn't hurt from quite literally getting your ass kicked, perhaps it would've been a very nice joyride.

As you leaned over to go into a curve that the road made before you, you left the sunlit parts of the way and slid into the cooler shadows, immediately feeling the drop of temperature. You didn't mind much though since the cushioned clothing you wore kept you warm enough.

Raising your motorcycle back up to its usual angle, you kept following the road in a moderate tempo, not feeling very rushed but rather like you wanted to enjoy the ride a bit more.
If you had known what had been following you since the moment you entered the woods, you probably wouldn't have been so relaxed.

The trees here were high and dense, a thick undergrowth gushing out from between the large trunks and partially onto the street's edges. They completely blocked all sunlight and enveloped you in the dark shade.

Bright lights suddenly lit up before you, making you squeeze your eyes shut for just a moment before forcing them open again to avoid driving off road or hitting a tree while blinded.
It also enabled you to see the cause for the light.

A car had turned the corner before you, its much too bright headlights having blinded you.
The larger vehicle's motor roared daringly as it sped past you dangerously close, nearly hitting the side of your motorcycle.

You could hear muffled music and laughing and for a moment you thought you saw a certain blond at the wheel of that car.

Who would've thought.
Of course it was Steve that nearly drove you into the ground after forgetting to turn off the full beam.
What a prick.

Wait.. Did he even have a license?

You were pretty sure he didn't.

Giving a mental shrug, you calmed your steering, which had went a bit wavy after trying to dodge that car's headlight, and kept on with your own pace, grumbling about the annoying jock and how you'd like to let your fist collide with his jaw.

Once the sudden shock had faded away a bit, you took a deep breath and rounded the curve that Steve had just appeared from.

The next thing you remember was a loud crash that send a shockwave through your body and then the world was flipped around.

Up was down and down was up as your body was thrown forward into the air, losing all sense of direction.
You couldn't even comprehend what had happened as you watched the upside down road above your head, quickly passing and coming closer.
Then your body hit the asphalt rather painfully, head and left shoulder crashing to the ground before the rest of your back followed and you tumbled a few times more from the force of the crash that had sent you flying, instinctively using your arms to shield your body as you rolled.

If you hadn't worn your helmet, your head most likely would've been a mushy bloody something on the rough surface of the road the moment it hit the cold asphalt.

Finally you stopped rolling as you were partially thrown into a bush by the edge of the woods, the twigs and leaves cushioning your stop and letting you lay in the dry grass on your stomach.

You blinked.

Once.
Then twice.

What?

You could only hear a high pitched ringing in your ears for a few seconds.

Trying to lift your head, you wanted to see what had caused this sudden accident but the narrow view inside your heavy helmet made it hard to see anything, let alone lift your head.
Feeling as though you had trouble breathing also, you quickly opened the strap underneath your chin and threw the protection away from you with shaking hands, not even noticing the broken part where the helmet had hit the ground.
Pain shot through your left arm and up your neck as you did so but you barely felt it due to the sudden adrenaline rush.

Fresh air hit your face and the noises of the forest came rushing to your ears but you didn't even notice them, the noise of blood shooting through your head, combined with the noisy ringing, being much louder.
You shook your pulsating head a bit, trying to sharpen your confused vision as you looked up again.

Only to see a large dark figure lurking in the middle of the road, its broad back to you. The first thing you noticed were the massive double swords that were strapped to the back of the being with old looking leather.
They were rough, chapped and covered in a strange brownish color.

As you stared, the figure moved its head down and sniffed something laying before its short but strong looking legs, a thick tail resting behind them.
You suddenly remember the blue bull in the woods, noticing some resemblances such as thick horns, bulky body, short legs and stony skin.

This one looked a lot different though.

It was pitch black with a messy pelt around the neck to back area and it looked somehow less peaceful.

A sudden panic seized you, as you noticed that what the black bull was sniffing at was your dented motorcycle.
Even with the distance that lay between you and your vehicle, you could still see the deep slashes that cut through the now scratched up metal.

They matched the shape of the being's claws.

From your spot by the bushes, you could also see how small it looked in comparison to the dual wielding bull before it.

Your mind screamed at you to get up and run but your body felt cold and heavy, already battered from training and now the fall too.
Especially your left shoulder.

You felt your insides grow even colder, fear settling in your stomach like a boulder and chaining you to the ground right where you lay.
If you didn't get up now, you were sure you would die.
And yet you couldn't, no matter how much you wanted to, as though someone had put your body in a trance but left your mind wide awake to watch as your end came upon you and be unable to stop it.

Only when the black bull suddenly flung his head around and your eyes were met with a glowing bloodthirsty red gaze that seemed to pierce your very soul, did those chains suddenly snap.
In less than a second, you had pushed yourself to your feet and dashed into the woods.

You weren't sure why but something about the way the black one moved just screamed 'murderer'.
And you sure as heck didn't want to end up like your poor motorcycle.

As you sprinted through the bushes and leaped over fallen trees like you never had before, you heard a vicious roaring from behind you that sent shivers and cold sweat down your back in an instant, followed by the heavy thudding of running feet. Or rather hooves.

He was chasing you.

Shit.

Having no idea where to run to, you hoped that his larger frame wouldn't be able to follow you quickly through the narrow trees you were dashing through.
Then again, he looked like he could simply mow them down with a tackle of his shoulders.

Your feet stumbled and staggered over the uneven earth but they never tripped or got stuck and now you were thankful for all the nights you had run around in the woods for your footing was more secure than you thought it would be.
Breath going in hasty puffs, you threw yourself over a particularly large tree trunk that blocked your path and nearly crashed into a rock on the other side.
With a much too close dodge, you managed to evade it though and kept running.

The sounds from your hunter were gradually growing louder and nearer, like thunderous rocks smashing into the soft forest ground mercilessly.
You heard the stomping stop for a moment as he must've been jumping over the tree just like you had mere seconds ago and then a rough crash and angry roaring.

Looks like he didn't react fast enough to that rock in his path.
For a moment, you hoped he would let you go but the stomping of his legs soon followed you again.

Why was he even chasing you!?

The thought circled your head but you didn't have time to think about it more, needing to focus on not getting caught, which seemed more and more impossible with each passing second.

As you fled through the trees, you noticed a grey gleam trough a group of trees not too far from you.
It looked like a stonewall.
Not having much of a choice, you changed direction and ran toward it.

Maybe it was something that could help you?

As you broke through the thick undergrowth and landed on a small clearing with dry earth, you spotted a house-high and broad boulder before you. It rested at the bottom of a small mountain and was leaned against the stony wall of it, leaving a thin gap between the mountain and the boulder itself, barely enough to fit a desperate and terrified human into it.

Relief washed over you, nearly making you forget why you were running in the first place.
Not for long though, because the black bull had almost caught up to you and his victorious roar told you that quite clearly.
With the last strength that you had pulled out from the depth of your muscles, you sprinted to the safe haven and pressed yourself into the narrow gap.

The thick motorcycle jacket you wore made you a bit too big though so you couldn't fit in far enough.
You had to get out again.
Throwing a quick look to the dark woods, where you could see a pair of red eyes fixed on you, you quickly took off your jacket and threw it to the side.
Just as you had gotten rid of it, the large predator broke onto the clearing as well, clawed hands already outstretched and reaching to grab you.

Time seemed to slow as you stared wide eyed at the deadly stone claws and with one last effort, you threw yourself to the other side, once more landing on your left shoulder -this time you were sure you heard a crack- before rolling off of it and onto your feet in a surprisingly smooth move.

The flow of time got back in motion and the claws that had been outstretched to get you, dug into the earth instead, tearing it open with terrifying ease.

The black bull gave a displeased growl and swiped around to where you had landed, apparently really set on getting you.
But you had already used that short moment of inattentiveness to squeeze yourself into the gap, partially not feeling partially ignoring the pain in your shoulder as you pressed your body further into the dark spot.

You reached the narrowest point in the gap and pressed your back to the wall of the mountain, surrounded by dirt and possibly some cobwebs too.
Getting some spiders in your hair wasn't as bad as getting torn to pieces or eaten alive.

For a moment, you didn't see nor hear anything, making you believe your chaser had left after losing sight of you.

But you crowed too soon.

Not a moment after you thought that, the light of your hiding spot was blocked completely, replaced by the threatening reddish light of the black bull's eye that glared at you viciously from the outside.

Now that you couldn't run nor hide any further from his gaze, you were forced to fully look at him up close for the first time.

He had messy teeth poking out of his mouth just like the blue bull, but his looked more like the fangs of a wild beast, ready to dig into your soft warm flesh and taste the sweet blood that ran in your veins.

His narrowed eyes weren't just red but had a strong yellow color around the edges as well.

You hadn't noticed before but the bent horns at either side of his head were chapped on one side, tip completely broken off.
Scars littered his rough stone skin, confirming that this one was indeed much less peaceful than the blue bull.

The scarred being had stared at your terrified form just like you had at him for a while, as though he was trying to figure something out.
He didn't seem to be much of a thinker though for his grimace grew darker and was taut with anger.

To your surprise, he talked, or rather, growled words at you.
"Puny fleshbag! Come out of there!"
His deep voice was more of an animalistic growling but you could still understand him perfectly well. Perhaps a bit too well for your liking.

It was obvious that not being able to even stick one of his large hands into the gap you were in was bothering him more than he wanted to admit.
You were so close to him and yet still out of reach.
"I'll break every bone in your weak body!"

You wondered if that was supposed to persuade you into coming out.

His every breath reeked of rotten flesh, stale blood and moldy bones.
Holding your nose shut with your right hand, you wanted to make a disgusted face but didn't dare to.

"Your pathetic trollhunter can't save you anymore!"

… huh?

The black bull must've noticed your confused expression for he stopped taunting you and grumbled into the gap aggressively.

"No use playing dumb, puny thing. His stench is all over you! His fault for getting a fleshbag pet! Next time he'll see you will be in pieces!"

He dragged his sharp claws over the side of the boulder to mark his words, making a horrendous screeching noise and leaving slashes in the hard material. Some sparks fell to the ground.

You didn't see it but you heard the noise and it made you wince in discomfort.

You didn't understand anything. What was he even talking about? Trollhunter? Fleshbag pet? His stench?
Did you have an accident and now you were dreaming all of this?

No, no this was way too real. You didn't dream this real. At least, you hadn't before. Why would you start now?

The large bull sneered at you again and pushed a breath out of his black nose, the hot air hitting your face and messing up your already tangled hair even with the distance between you.
It stung in your eyes but luckily didn't smell as bad as his mouth odor.

So far you hadn't said anything. Either being too busy trying not to scream or trying to figure out what the actual hell was happening here.

"If you won't come out, fleshbag," said the black one with a threatening growl, "I'll claw my way in! No matter how long it takes!"

And with that, he stepped away from the narrow opening, letting a bit of fresher air in -much to your liking- before he began to slash his claws over the boulder's edge, trying to make the gap large enough for him to fit his arm through -not very much to your liking-.

You could only watch in horror as the first stone pieces cracked and broke off.
Great. You had trapped yourself.

How were you supposed to get out of this? Was this really how you'd go out? Just after finally warming up to Toby again?
Oh gee, you hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed.
Thomas would surely cry though. Poor boy…

A strange calmness washed over you, easing the strain in your muscles and making you feel patient and collected.

You had already given up on any chances of survival, not giving the black bull the pleasure of seeing you squirm and scream in the gap. Instead you just watched blankly.
That must've upset him further, for he roared loudly and slammed his fist into the stone, breaking off a large piece at the top of the boulder that slid to the side slowly and then crashed down with such force that it shook your very bones.

But it wouldn't help you live through this.
Letting your left arm rest in your lap, you sighed and closed your (e/c) eyes.

You'd perish at the hands of this blood-lusty creature, painfully torn limb from limb until you'd slowly bleed out and die a horrible death.

At least, that is what you firmly believed was going to happen.

You couldn't have known that the loud crash from that boulder piece had alerted someone not too far from your position and caused them to -albeit unknowingly- run to your rescue.

---

Just as he had wanted to leave the area he had been scouting again, did Kanjigar feel the vibration of something heavy crashing onto the ground, alerting his keen hunter instincts of nearby danger.
The amulet in his chest plate whirled loudly, displaying his higher level of attention.
He didn't need to think much to understand that something non-human had caused the shaking.

Lifting his head, he took a deep breath of the breeze that was carried from the direction of the crash toward him. His yellow eyes widened in surprise as he picked up the scent of his target and another much fainter scent along with it. It was the tempting smell of human flesh.
Although he and most of his kind had turned their backs on eating the smaller beings, the scent still appealed to his natural instincts, as much as he wanted it not to be so.

The main thing that worried him though, was the combination of those two scents.
So he quickly changed course and sprinted toward the direction the scent mixture was coming from, his short legs carrying him surprisingly fast to his goal.

It barely took him what humans called a 'minute' before he spotted the black troll's back through the trees, broke through the undergrowth a moment later and came flying at the vicious gumm-gumm, who had been so focused on his hiding prey that he had forgotten everything else around him.

Kanjigar's strong punch threw the equally bulky troll back from the already beaten boulder quite a bit, making him stumble over his own feet until he regained his balance and lowered himself into a position that made it hard to tell his next move.

Red eyes met with yellow ones and the darker troll let out an angry growl at his newly appeared opponent.

He definitely didn't look very pleased.

The blue troll lifted his hand, reaching behind his back where his large sword rested, and grabbed onto the handle. Daylight was pulled forth, gleaming in the dying light of the sunset and emitting the usual blue mist from its sleek blade.

"Tsk, pesky trollhunter," spat the black one with disgust before bellowing loudly to taunt Kanjigar, "Came to take back your little fleshbag pet?! I was having so much fun with it though!"

At those words, the gumm-gumm prince charged forward to meet the trollhunter head-on, looking as aggressive as ever.

Kanjigar swung his sword but it was blocked by the dual short-swords previously strapped to the other's back and now in his claws.

The trollhunter narrowed his eyes and pushed ahead.

---

The noises of fighting reached your dulled ears as you took your hands off of them.
You had covered them previously to shield your hearing from the constant screeching of claw over stone, which was now missing and instead replaced by the clashing of metal.
Confused, you tried to see what was happening outside.
Was your predator sharpening his swords to slice you up?

Letting out a shaky breath at the thought, you inched toward the faint light slightly, wincing at the pain that shot through your left shoulder with each movement.
It must be at least fractured from the impact of the fall.

Since the opening of your hiding spot had been widened considerably already, you could peek around the edge quite easily and spotted the black bull fighting against the blue bull you had met a few days ago.

What was he doing here?

Well, apparently fighting off the black one and saving your ass.

You still didn't really understand anything but at least you had some hope for survival again. Blue bull looked pretty strong and fresh while black bull was already tired from chasing you and punching a boulder for so long.

Unable to stop yourself, you admired their fight from a safe distance in your hiding spot, watching the way they moved and reacted to each others' attacks. As a martial artist, you were quite intrigued to say the least.
For a while you even forgot what had happened before the fight until the blue bull slashed his blade across the black one's stomach, drawing a pained roar from him.
Much to your satisfaction, you watched him stumble and turn tail, growling all the while.
He sure didn't like retreating from a fight by the looks of it.

You couldn't believe it.

Somehow, you didn't die.

Whew.

---

Kanjigar watched as his opponent turned tail and fled. He considered going after him since he had been trying to locate the gumm-gumm prince for quite some time now but the scent of human that lingered in the air kept him back.
He tested the breeze again, locating a stronger collection of the scent near the mountain side.
Turning his head, the trollhunter spotted the same human female from a while ago, hiding behind a nearly collapsed boulder and looking a bit roughed up, yet still alive.
For a moment he just stared at her -getting the feeling of a déjà-vu- then he set Daylight onto his back and slowly approached the human whelp, making sure not to make any rash movements.

Her (e/c)-eyes flickered from him to the woods behind him as though the little creature was trying to think of a way to escape.
He felt his parental instincts well up in him but suppressed them quickly.
Once he was close enough, he crouched down to match her height a bit more.
It surprised him to see that a human had survived an attack of the gumm-gumm prince. And with all her limbs in place too.
He recalled hearing him say 'fleshbag pet' and leaned down a bit further to smell the human's scent again.
True enough, he could pick out his own trollish scent mixed with the warm smell of the human before him.

"It's alright," he finally said to her, intentionally talking softer and quieter to soothe the silent female before him, "you are safe for now, human."

He offered her a somewhat reluctant smile, unsure if it would help considering the fangs in his mouth.
The human female looked at him with such relief as she suddenly staggered and slid down the stone to sit on the ground, that Kanjigar himself felt relieved too.

If this human had died, it would've been solely his fault after all.
He was the one who made her a target and now that the black troll had seen and smelled her, there was no telling how safe she would be anymore.

The realization hit him like a heavy blow to the gut.

It didn't matter if he had saved the small human this time.

She was now an official target to Bular the Vicious.