((This Extra takes place simultaneously to Chapter 12))

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Being a changeling under Gunmar's -more or less- direct control could be exhausting.
He not only had his duties from his human life to take care of but also the tasks from Gunmar on top of that and the singular-braincelled Bular at his heels almost all the time.

How many times did Nomura call him to let him know that Bular had once again set out to drag away some human into his hideout? Even the day when he was tutoring (Y/n) before school started again. Although he didn't care at that point anymore.

There was already a small mountain of skeletons in the warehouse after all.
One or two others didn't make a difference to him.

Keeping that brute in check took Stricklander's full attention sometimes. There were moments when he felt the need to stuff that stinking mouth of his and leave him in the sunshine to turn to stone so that he'd finally have some peace.

But he knew he couldn't do that.
Gunmar would have his head.

He also needed the black gumm-gumm to do the fighting for their cause since he couldn't expose himself just yet.

That one time in (Y/n)'s backyard had been close enough. He still feared she'd recognize his voice at some point. The girl wasn't the smartest at times but she had a good intuition after all.

Some days, he thought about what she could have been had he taken her under his wing back then.
She would've made for a great fighter with her knowledge in teakwondo. From what Coach Lawrence mentioned toward him, her body adapted quickly to new sports as well.

But her humanness probably would've been an issue.

Shaking his head lightly, the slender man leaned against the tree he was standing below.
Attention was required now.

With a flash of green light, his human appearance shifted into that of a tall and slim troll with green skin. The collar of his cloak was high and lined with knifes, partially hiding some of his face in the dark.

His yellow and red eyes peered through the night and at the girl sitting on her porch.

He still couldn't get over the fact that she was the human Bular had wanted to hunt.
Back when the prince first talked about some kind of pet that the trollhunter had gotten, he didn't dare to dream that it was one of his students, let alone (Y/n).

This girl really was a trouble-magnet. He could already smell the disasters to come.

Watching in complete silence as the trollhunter entered the backyard and the two greeted each other, Strickler couldn't help but frown.

Couldn't she have just been another normal human that didn't know about any of this?
It would've made things so much easier for everyone involved.
What was he supposed to do when she found out about his true nature? Kill her?
Probably.
But that would be such a waste for all his hard work in the past. He had made sure she stayed alive back then only for her to get right on top of Bular's kill-list now.

Sometimes he wondered if she did that on purpose.

The changeling moved his slender body in the shadows like a fish in water, making not even one sound as he followed the trollhunter and the human into the woods at a safe distance.
He overheard them talking and was astonished to notice that they were using Trollspeak.

When did she learn that? Well, she did have a knack for languages according to Señor Uhl. But Trollspeak? That was a language way above the -in comparison- basic level of Spanish.

Listening to their conversation and realizing that Kanjigar was teaching the girl, Strickler frowned once again.

What was that troll thinking?
He was only dragging her deeper into this whole mess with every bit of information he gave her.

Would she prove to be an obstacle in their path? He hoped not since that meant he'd have to get rid of her. Maybe it was possible to pull her onto their side though? She trusted him after all. He'd have to at least try that should push come to shove.

Otherwise he'd feel bad for her father as well. He had seen the man suffer ten years ago and he was certain that he couldn't handle another loss like that.

Then again. That wasn't Strickler's problem. They were all just some humans, fated to die way before any of them with their short lifespans and limited views.

It was better to keep his nose out of their lives and just focus on achieving his own goal.

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Of course, that was what Strickler thought to himself. What he didn't acknowledge was the fact that he did indeed worry a lot for his students. Strickler himself had no children, although he did consider some of the kids in his classes to be quite similar to a child of his in a way.
Emotions were always making things complicated so he shut them out even if, deep down, he knew he couldn't do it forever. Especially not for a child that he had known since she was a little toddler.

After all, he had spent many years caring for the child and even raising her for a short period of time. As someone who's never had an own offspring, it was the closest he had gotten to being a father.

He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but seeing the girl happy made him proud too. It was like a bird watching their young one fly for the first time after having fallen so very often.
And yet, he couldn't follow these kind of emotions unless he wanted to get mauled by Bular.

His job, his purpose for being in this world, was far too different.

Life was simply unfair.

A changeling's life even more so.

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The green troll stopped as he was perched on a branch, his dark and natural colors easily blending him into the shadows of the woods.
He observed as (Y/n) walked up to a large tree with giant roots and how Kanjigar followed her.

Suddenly, he sensed a change in the atmosphere and grew tense.

The trollhunter was on guard.

Did he notice that they were being followed?
Fleeing was not an option thanks to Bular's command so Strickler prepared himself to leap at the blue troll any second now.
He reached up to his collar, slickly pulling a long blade from it without making a sound. His sharp eyes narrowed, focusing on a vital spot at the trollhunter's back, ready to throw the knife.

However before he could do so, he heard another troll approach and halted in his movement.

He didn't know Draal all that much but he had heard plenty of him from Nomura so he instantly recognized him when the burly troll came out from the bushes. Strickler stuck to waiting and watching.

Upon realizing that Kanjigar had sensed his son and not himself, the changeling let out a quiet breath of relief.
He knew that he was no match for the trollhunter had it come to a fight between them.

The family squabble between the blue trolls went on and died out again, leaving the changeling to be rather amused.

It was ironic.

Kanjigar, who had been the one to full on endanger a human' life all those months ago, was now mentoring her and straight up had her right above them during the whole argument, was now telling Draal not run into any humans.

Almost got a laugh out of him. But just almost.

As Draal left the scene again, Strickler focused on the unusual duo by the tree. Watching what Kanjigar was doing like he had been told to. Seeing how familiar they were, Strickler knew that if he allowed himself to think about the consequences of his doings, he wouldn't be able to pull through. The girl seemed so attached to Kanjigar. He didn't want to think about how this would affect her.

After all, Bular had a plan -or rather Gunmar had passed his plan on to Bular- and it wouldn't end well for Kanjigar.

He needed to know the trollhunter's usual path on his patrols for it to work though. So that's what he was doing.

Watching.

Learning.

Eventually bringing death to the trollhunter.