#checking in on their walkies all day between classes at school like it's very serious!

[thosewildcharms]

i am chuckling thinking about stage 5 clinger rick grimes post-towl, plainly refusing to ever let michonne out of his sight. and michonne doing the same thing too, like they will be attached at the hip for the foreseeable future, and good for them!

so true, we support them in their codependent era!

[sorceress-coffee]

Waka Chaka

AO3 Link

I was excited about our trip to the museum today, Mr. Strickler’s classes had been invited to the new exhibits that opened. We were all standing in a group on the steps of the museum, while Ms. Nomura, the museum curator, was telling us about the exhibit.

 “I know contemporary media might lead you to believe European history is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal. I assure you the truth is far more interesting, and there’s no better place to start than Renaissance Era pottery.” She exclaimed. I could instantly tell what her favorite pieces of the museum were. Eli and I were the only students that were excited to hear what Ms. Nomura had to say.

 Mr. Strickler interrupted her at the groans of his students, “Since we have limited time, Ms. Nomura, perhaps it’s best if they explore the museum on their own. Don’t you think?”

 I was pulled in by a sudden rush of students, past Mr. Strickler and Ms. Nomura. I sighed following Jim and Toby around for a while before stopping at the Renaissance Era pottery exhibit that Ms. Nomura had mentioned. Walking in I found Ms. Nomura rearranging one of the exhibits. “You were right, this is an incredible place to start,” I comment, smiling, looking over the artwork etched into the pottery.

 Ms. Nomura smiled and walked over to the piece I was admiring. “That is a midnight vase, depicting monsters that were rumored to awaken at midnight and hunt humans.” She explained, pointing to the different markings that look like paintings of trolls. She stepped closer to me and stiffened, eyes going wide as she turned to stare at me.

 I frowned in concern, “Ms. Nomura? Are you alright?” I asked she seemed to be in shock.

 She coughed stepping back, rubbing her nose slightly, “Sorry, I seem to be sensitive to you perfume,’ she explained, sneezing into her arm. “If you’ll excuse me.” She turned, heading over to Mr. Strickler to talk to him.

 I was left very confused; I wasn’t wearing perfume. The only thing different from my normal body wash was Draal scenting me last night. I wondered if humans could smell it too. I walked off to find Jim and Toby, running into Toby first, “Hey Tobes, do I smell funny or something?” I asked.

 Toby gave me an odd look before sniffing near me. “No, what did you forget to shower or something?” He joked, walking around the museum with me.

 “No,” I snickered ruffling his hair, “I think the curator might be allergic to me, she said she was sensitive to my perfume but I’m not wearing any,” I explained as we passed Eli trying to talk a group of students into believing monsters existed again.

 “That’s weird,” Toby began, cutting off when Eli mentioned having photographic evidence. “Hey Eli, can we see?” Toby asked, taking his phone before Eli could answer.

 We looked at the photo and saw a flattened, definitely troll related monster in a selfie with Eli. “Oops!” Toby said, deleting the picture before handing it back to Eli. “Darn these stubby little fingers, gotta go!” He yelled, dragging me along to find Jim.

 We found Jim flirting with Claire over by a case holding a gown. “We have a problem,” Toby told Jim quickly.

 Jim glanced between us and Claire. “What kind of problem?” he asked.

 I quickly pulled Claire away, asking her about the play and how rehearsal was going.

 Toby gave Jim a quick rundown and we left him to flirt with Claire for the rest of the afternoon.

 Once out of school, we left for Trollmarket to let Blinky and Arrrgh know what we found. As we entered, Draal was at the steps waiting for me.

 Jim jumped back, not expecting to see Draal, “D-Draal! The um… Sun is out, so… uh, yeah,” he said quickly.

 I rolled my eyes, having had enough of skirting around Draal and Jim, especially since Draal was now courting me. “Relax Jim, Draal’s meeting with me. We’re training.” Draal looked at me surprised; having known I was nervous about letting Jim know.

 “You’re training with him?” Toby asked, stunned. “But he hates Jim!”

 Jim looked between us, obviously still on edge with Draal around. “Toby, it’s fine.” He remarked quickly, trying to calm his friend.

 “How can you be fine with this? You’re fighting him in two days!” Toby remarked.

 “I trust River, that’s why. If she trusts Draal, that’s good enough for me.” He smiled, clasping my shoulder before looking to Draal. “Can you hold off on training? We need to talk to Blinky, there’s a troll related problem on the surface.” Jim asked, trying to be civil.

 Draal eyed him for a moment before nodding, “Very well. I will accompany you.”

 Toby glared at him; arms crossed over his chest. “Oh, I trust River, but I trust Draal about as far as she can throw him.” He remarked, clueless.

 “Then you must have a great deal of trust in me fleshbag,” Draal smirked heading down the gem steps to Trollmarket.

 “Wait, what?” Jim asked, looking to me in shock. “You can throw him?!”

 I shrugged, “I’m not exactly human, remember? My skill set is very different.” I said, following after Draal. Toby and Jim following behind us, into Trollmarket.

 Looking around I realized the trolls were staring at me as they had when they saw us for the first time in Trollmarket, complete disbelief. My face heated slightly, realizing this was their reaction to Draal scenting me.

 Jim and Toby were looking at the Trolls confused, “What’s going on? Everyone’s acting strange?” Jim asked.

 Draal took notice, growling as he slammed his fist against the ground, causing the trolls to look away quickly and resume their activities. “It’s not your concern, fleshbag.” He led us into Blinky’s library quickly.

 Arrrgh looked up confused seeing Draal enter with us. Sniffing the air, he shook his head with a small smile. Well, that’s one less troll I had to deal with giving me strange looks. Blinky turned, sniffing the air, jaw-dropping as he looked to all four of us, “You can’t be serious!” He barked out.

 I winced, stepping closer to Draal who gave a low growl. Blinky waved him off, huffing as he handed Arrrgh a smelly bag, most likely filled with socks. I tilt my head in confusion at the exchange. Arrrgh just grins saying “Bet,” not needing to explain further.

 Draal huffed, leaning over me slightly. He was irritated, realizing that Arrrgh and Blinky as made a bet concerning us and courting.

 “Okay, what is going on?” Jim asked, looking between the four of us.

 “Don’t you have something to discuss with Blinkous? Or did you stall our training to waste time?” Draal growled out.

 I walked to Blinky, explaining the photo Eli took. “It was small, green, and slimy, and it wasn’t a dead cat.”

 Blinky frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. “I may know the creature that met its untimely demise in front of your friend’s home. The sun is setting soon, we should go check, just to make sure.” He stated.

 “How bad is it Blinky?” I didn’t like his expression; Eli was a friend and I had a sense he was in danger.

 Draal nudged my arm, “Why don’t you go with them? You’re worried about the fleshbag, we can afford to take a break from training tonight.”

 I smiled and nodded quickly. “Thank you Draal.”

 “Let’s hurry, we don’t have time to waste,” Blinky said, rushing Jim and Toby out of the library, Arrrgh right behind them.

 “I’m right behind!” I called, hugging Draal tight when they were all out, “Thank you Draal, Eli’s a friend. Stupidly oblivious to danger too.”

 He snorts, nuzzling my cheek, “Sounds like you. Hurry, if this is what I think it is, his life could be at risk.” Draal nudges me to the door. “Keep your guard up.”

 I nod and quickly take off, catching up to the others quickly as we head out of Trollmarket and into the suburbs of Arcadia Oaks.

 Toby led us to Eli’s house, pausing as we neared the green smear in the road. “Voila!” He said as Jim grabbed a stick and began poking it.

 “Not voila. Goblin.” Arrrgh stated.

 “Goblin?” Jim asked pulling back.

 “Ruthless tricksters,” Blinky began to explain. “Petty street vandals who leave a wake of destruction. This is not good.” He stood up, hand on his hips.

 “Well, justice was served. We should get back and train for Draal.” Jim said, tossing the stick.

 “Oh, no, Master Jim. Where there is one, there are many. And, as for the unfortunate soul who ran over this small fellow, may Skaargen’s swift blade have mercy!” Blink spat in two of his hands, rubbed them together, and hit one over his chest.

 “And why is that?” I asked, worried for Eli.

 “Naturally, goblin payback is ten-fold,” Blinky stated.

 “There’s a delivery note on the door! What if, the goblin got ran over by the delivery truck?” Toby asked, thrusting the not out to us.

 Jim took the note reading it over. “If the delivery driver is coming back at eight, we will be here. I’m not gonna let some poor guy become goblin chow on my watch.” Jim stated, determined.

 “Master Jim, answering the call!” Blinky threw his hands up, grinning.

 “So cool. Stakeout!” Toby was bouncing with excitement, “Past my curfew!” he yelled, throwing his hands up.

 Blinky and Jim were hiding behind a bush, watching the front of the house, Arrrgh and Toby were staking out to the left, behind a fence, and I was on the right, sitting up in a tree for a better view, keeping my guard up as Draal had instructed. It was well past time for the delivery driver to show.

 “Hey, Tobes, all clear. How’s it going over there?” Jim’s voice called through the walkie talkie hooked to my belt.

 “All good in the hood, Trollhunter” came Toby’s out of breath voice, “except that I can’t stop moving. My love of stakeouts is being ruined by my overwhelming need to obtain swag. Other than that, nothing unusual.” Toby’s voice came through, Arrrgh in the background calling Toby unusual. “War hammer, to Midnight, how about there? Out.”

 I rolled my eyes at the walkie talkie before grabbing it, “I’m assuming you mean me,” Looking up I spot the truck coming down the street. “The truck is pulling up, out.” I looked around see movement, grabbing the binoculars I began to survey the area, we were surrounded. “Jim, they’re everywhere!” I called quickly, pressing further against the tree as the goblins broke the street lights.

 “Stay down and don’t make a sound,” Blinky called, whispering, “in their frenzied state they’ll attack anything in their path.”

 The Goblin charged and began to attach the truck.

 “Unexpected, their dispute isn’t with the driver at all, but rather the transportation that had flattened their kinsman,” Blinky called. “You must not be afraid Master Jim!”

 “I thought the first rule of troll hunting was to always be afraid,” Jim stated, confused.

 Arrrgh’s voice met the fray, “Trolls, not goblins.”

 “Goblins crave the pheromone of terror,” Blinky explained, “an odor you appear to be releasing quite generously.”

 “They smell fear?” I asked. Staring at the little green terrors, trying to keep calm.

 “Oh, no, I can smell it too!” Toby rang over the walkie talkies.

 “Then stop, or they will eat you!” Blinky whisper shouted as Toby let out another scream, catching the goblins’ attention. “Run!” Blinky yelled.

 I jumped out of the tree quickly running after everyone, lance at the ready. Arrrgh grabbed Jim and me as we ran and threw us on his back, out of the goblin’s reach.

 Toby’s chubby tracker began to beep, alerting him to a free t-shirt as a goblin jumped up and grabbed him, pulling him down. “Toby!” I yelled, Jim grabbed his legs and I used the blunt end of my lance to knock the goblin off of Toby.

 We ended up running for Toby’s house, jumping off of Arrrgh’s back, I took a defensive stance as Toby struggled to unlock the door. As the goblins began to climb into the backyard, I bared my teeth in a snarl, ready to fight. Toby finally unlocked the door as the goblins closed in. Toby, Jim, and Blinky ran in. Arrrgh grabbed me by the hood of my jacket and dragged me in before forcing himself through the doorway.

 We headed upstairs and Toby sat on his bed, stress eating. I sat with him, stealing the apple on top.

 “I’m sorry master Jim, but your town is infested!” Blinky exclaimed, grabbing Jim’s shoulders.

 “Okay, trolls, I can deal with because, at least, trolls stay underground. But goblins? I don’t even have the bandwidth to-” Jim began before Toby interrupts him.

 “Jim, we gotta get my chubby tracker back. As long as they’ve got it, they’re just gonna get stronger and faster.” He said, picking through the snacks.

 Arrrgh took the bowl away from Toby. “Must find the den.” He explains before eating the bowl.

 “Yes, and eradicate them at once before they seek their revenge.” Blink stated gravely.

 “Revenge?” I asked, biting into the apple.

 “On you three,” Blinky says, “and they now know where Tobias lives.”

 “So, we find their den, you must have some idea,” Jim states, plopping on the bed next to me.

 “Haven’t the foggiest.” Blink states before Chompsky’s chattering caught his attention, he kneels to peer inside the dollhouse. “Great Gronka Mora! What is the gnome doing in this dollhouse?!” He asks dramatically, pointing to the dollhouse as he backs away, yelling.

 “You told me to take care of the gnome, so we’re taking care of it,” Jim stated.

 “This is in direct violation of rule number two!” Blinky starts to lecture.

 “Not really, the rule only states he has to finish the fight, how he finishes it isn’t stated, so it’s really up for interpretation,” I speak up quickly.

 “And rule number one is to always be afraid, except if you’re around goblins ‘cause they smell fear.” Jim stand, throwing his hands up as he begins pacing. Going off on how he doesn’t understand the rules.

 Blinky sighs, “I can only advise, not make your decisions for you. You are a human; you are learning the rules in your own way.” He nods. “Arrrgh and I will seek out this den, wherever it may be.”

 “Wouldn’t it be easier to track the chubby tracker and monitor where they’re staying the longest?” I speak up, all four boys turning to me, stunned.

 “Why didn’t I think of that?” Toby whacked his head.

 Jim grins, “you need to come on more missions River!” he says, getting the tracking info from Toby.

 “Sure, be we need to get some sleep. We have to go to class in a few hours.” I said standing. “good night guys!” I said, walking home with Jim, we crashed on the couch, deciding it would be better in case the goblins tried attacking tonight.

 After school the next day we had tracked the goblins to the museum, once the sun was down, we headed over to check it out. Toby pointed to the roof, “check it out! They’re already here! Let’s go,” he said quickly, not wanting to go inside.

 We were about to turn when I spotted Ms. Nomura walking into the museum. “Oh, no! It’s Ms. Nomura! She has no idea it’s infested; we have to help her.” I said quickly.

 Jim nodded as Toby went on a tangent of what goblins could do to her. We snuck in through an open window, staying low as we went through the museum looking for her. We ran into a couple of goblins patrolling and quickly hid behind a display. Jim and I were watching the goblins as Toby began to whimper, whacking at my arm. He began to stutter, saying Ms. Nomura’s face was ugly and troll-like. I rolled my eyes at him, thinking he was stressed from the goblins walking around.

 Right as the goblins were leaving, Toby’s phone began to go off as the chubby tracker app alerted him to another free item.

 “Turn it off!” Jim whispered yelled to Toby.

 “I’m trying!” Toby yelled back, quietly.

 As I looked behind the pillar to see the goblins, I felt a presence behind us.

 A low chuckle sounded from behind us. “I knew I detected the stink of teenage flesh.” I whipped around to see Ms. Nomura had turned into a troll. Toby and Jim screamed, taking off running. I snarled quickly following after them into a curtained off room, lance out I took a defensive stance. “but a human Trollhunter and a witch, that I’ve never tasted.” Nomura snarled, closing in on us.

 I swung my lance down, forcing her back so Jim could armor up. “Then let’s see how you like the taste of Daylight.” Jim taunted, pulling the amulet out, donning the armor quickly. He slashed daylight at her and she caught it easily, cackling at Jim’s effort. “What are you?” He asked, stunned.

 “I’m what kills you!” She snarled, using the blade to slam Jim into the floor.

 “Get away from him!” I yelled, lunging at her, blade dragging on the floor before sweeping up throwing her across the room.

 Jim and I switched back and forth as she charged, easily taking us both on. She slammed me into a stone structure hidden in the room, knocking the wind out of my lungs, I groaned collapsing to the floor. She turned on Jim, stalking forward and the goblins flanked her. A tapestry had fallen on Jim during the fight. He groaned, sitting up, facing Nomura as she cackled.

 “This was fun. Now, you’re history.” She sneered, blades poised to strike, kicking Daylight out of Jim’s hand. “All that fancy armor and you’re just a scared little boy.” She cackled.

 Toby was helping me to my feet, I screamed as Nomura made to strike, trying to rush forward.

 Jim smirked, grabbing the tapestry “Arrogance gets you killed!” He yelled, pulling the tapestry out from under Nomura’s feet, causing her to land on a goblin, killing it. The other goblins began to snarl, attacking Nomura for killing their kinsmen.

 “Let’s go!” Jim yelled, helping Toby stabilize me, getting us out of the museum quickly.

 Next thing I know, we’re being arrested.

[spidderboi]

Signals and Static - Part 1

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: You bought Spider-man walkie-talkies and start picking up some concerning conversations over the frequency. 

Word Count: 1,762

A/N: Definitely still acting like Infinity Wars didn’t happen. Iz thought it was a good idea to jokingly buy us Spider-man walkie talkies and we got this idea... I don’t even know anymore.

Peter chuckles as his eyes land on the Spider-man shirt you are wearing. Ever since he had told you about his secret identity you had made it a point to buy any merchandise you found online as a joke, but Peter thought it was adorable.

You set your bag down and took your seat next to him, an evil grin already on your lips. Peter eyed you suspiciously, “What?”

Your grin gets wider, “What, what?”

“You look like you’ve done something you shouldn’t have.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Peter.” You turn away from him, reaching into your bag and pulling out two Spider-man themed walkie talkies, setting them on Peter’s desk.

“Y/N- You can’t be serious? Did you honestly spend money on kids toys?”

“At this point I'm surprised that you still doubt me.” You say with a sly grin, “And, you can't tell me that you don't find these at least kind of adorable.” The slight hesitation from Peter was all you needed to prove your point. “You know you love them, Parker.”

“Y/N…” Peter says with a sigh, “I really hope you brought batteries.” He says with amusement in his eyes.

“Oh, honey. You already know.” You reach back into your bag, retrieving eight AAA batteries.

“And a screwdriver?” He says, raising an eyebrow.

You pull out your set of keys out, quickly unscrewing the backs of the walkie talkies and placing the batteries inside, grinning as Peter laughs at you. “You are unbelievable, Y/N/N.”

Smiling at Peter, you turn his walkie talkie on before handing it to him, quickly doing the same with your own.

“Keep your’s on,” You say, rising from your seat, “I'm going to run down the hallway real quick, so that we can see how far these things reach. The box said two thousand feet, but I have a feeling these things go farther than that.”

You see Peter nod his head before you leave the room, keeping your fingers crossed that these toys live up to their potential.

You quickly move down the hallway, trying to put as much distance between Peter and yourself as possible.

You push the black button on the side of the walkie talkie, “Peter? Can you hear me?”

There’s a beat of silence before his voice comes through the speaker, “Have I mentioned that this is absolutely ridiculous?” You can hear the amusement in his voice.

“Maybe once or twice.” You say, a smile spreading across your face at the success of your mission. “I'm currently by the front doors, so we know that these can reach relatively far. We can test them more out later, but I'm going to head back before the substitute notices that I'm gone.” You say into the mic, walking back to your math class.

Your eyes lock with Peter's the moment you walk through the door, a sigh escaping his lips. A smile makes its way onto his face as you approach his table, setting your walkie-talkie down.

“I hope you know we're keeping those on all day, right?”

Peter shakes his head and looks down at the math assignment. “Whatever you want, love.”

You continued to mess around with the walkie-talkies in each class, certainly entertained that you could hear Peter pretty well on the other side of the school.

As you entered your photography class, you texted Peter to tell him to turn on his walkie talkie, seeing as he had an off block.

You waited a minute, hoping he had turned his on, “Babe.” Receiving no response, you tried again. “Babbbbbbeeeee.”

A couple seconds later his voice came through the speaker, “(Y/N), is Ms. Harold not questioning the fact that you’re currently speaking into a kids toy?”

“Peter, if you must know. Ms. Harold finds it very entertaining and you’re the only one being a spoilsport right now.”

“Aren't you supposed to be doing work?” Peter asks, disregarding your previous comment, “I know for a fact that you have some sort of assignment due.”

“Peter, don't be such a party pooper,” You say into the device, as you pick up your bag and walk to the computer lab, “Since I'm being attacked, I'm going to try and get some work done. Keep your walkie on.”

You hear Peter grumble some sort of reply, but don't quite understand what he says, you roll your eyes at his complaining, and log on to the computer.

You were so entranced in the file that you were editing, that you didn't pay attention to the static coming from the walkie talkie. Not until a voice came over that didn't belong to Peter. “Friday… no… meet…” You look down at the walkie talkie with wide eyes, picking it up and cautiously speaking into it, “Peter? Was that you?”

“Was what me?” You hear his voice respond.

“The man's voice that just came over the walkie. That wasn't you?” You say, eyebrows drawn together in confusion at the strange voice.

“I can safely say that it wasn't me.” Peter tells you, “What did the voice say?”

“I don't know. The signal kept cutting out, I was able to hear a few words, but nothing that gives me solid idea of what they were talking about.” You sigh into the walkie, the curiosity already getting the best of you.

“Let me know if you hear those voices again.” Peter responds, you agree to keep him updated and look back to your work.

You continue to edit your photos while also focusing on the walkie talkie sitting next to your keyboard. Ten minutes pass by and you continue to hear the intercepted radio signal, still not enough to know what is being said. The only thing you've noted is that it's more than one person who's responses you've heard.

Finishing your assignment and waiting for Ms. Harold to give you her ‘Okay’ you decide to go and sit in the courtyard next to your classroom, hoping a more open area would give you a clearer signal. Walkie talkie in hand, you pace around the grassy courtyard, trying to find any voices that don't belong to Peter.

Chalking it up to your imagination, you begin to make your way back to your classroom, when you hear another voice come through. You stop so quickly you have to catch yourself on the railing next to the walkway and back up a step to catch the signal again. The voice is very obviously not Peter’s: it’s much deeper and obnoxious. Although you still couldn’t make out a coherent sentence, it seemed like the man was giving orders. Barely moving the walkie, you attempt to catch a slightly clearer signal.

“Docks tonight…. Move ready rock…. boss happy…”

“What the hell is ready rock?” You mumble under your breath. More confused than before, you pull your phone from your back pocket and quickly search ‘Ready rock’. The first result is music producer; shaking your head, you tab the search bar again, hoping to find something in the auto fill searches.

Ready rock C

Ready rock retaining wall

Ready rock drug

Chewing on your lip, you let curiosity take over and click the Ready rock drug search. Medicine Net pops up first reading: A street name for cocaine. By this point your brain is fruitlessly trying to convince itself that it’s probably just a coincidence, but ever interested and slightly paranoid, you send a text to Peter- not wanting to risk using the walkie.

You: “Courtyard. Now… please.”

It only takes a minute for Peter to come walking down the path towards you, his expression a mix of concern and amusement.

“Hear anything you shouldn’t have?” He teases with a small grin that quickly fades when he sees your serious expression. “Wait, did you hear something you shouldn’t have?”

“Have you ever heard of Ready Rock?”

Peter pauses for a second, “I think some drug cartels use it as code for heroin or cocaine- one or the other.”

You give him a look of surprise, “Why do you know that?”

“Because I’m Spi- Wait, why are you asking me this?”

“I think the radio is picking up on other frequencies. I think it might be picking up on a frequency that is being used in a drug cartel.” You look from the walkie talkie in your hand to Peter, unsurprised to see a look of disbelief on his face.

“(Y/N), you’re probably just picking up some construction workers or something.”

“Construction workers who talk about a moving ready rock at the docks tonight and keeping their boss happy?”

The look on Peter’s face normally would have been enough to make you laugh but you had worked yourself up so much over this that you had started taking it seriously.

Peter shakes his head, pulling his walkie talkie from his back pocket and looking at it, “There’s no way a kids toy-”

He stops talking when static comes across both walkie talkies before it clears enough to hear a voice, “10-4, move from all stash areas? Over.”

Eyes wide, Peter looks back up at you and clears his throat. “Uh- ‘stash area’ means where the drugs are stored.” He finishes quietly.

You bite back down on your lip and nod. Before you can respond more static comes across the walkie and you drop it in the grass from surprise. Your hands go up into a defensive position as you walk away from the toy, “Nope. No. Nuh and uh. Did I mention no?”

Peter follows after you, grabbing your walkie from the grass. “(Y/N), it okay. Okay?”

“Okay? No! It’s not okay, Peter! This was just supposed to be a gag gift for fun. That is a kids toy. A kids toy, Peter. It should not be able to pick up conversations from drug cartels.”

He grabs your hands and pulls you closer to his, “Hey, I’ll check it out tonight while I’m on patrol, okay?”

Hesitantly, you let him pull you into a hug as you nod, feeling stupid about getting so worked up about this. “If you get hurt tonight, I’m gonna be so pissed.”

Peter kisses the top of your head, “I’ll be alright, I promise.”

The final bell of the day sounded in the courtyard and you pushed away from Peter. “I have to grab my bag real quick. Meet me at the locker.” He gives you a simple nod and watches you walk away before looking back at the walkie talkies in his hand. Tonight would be interesting if nothing else.

~ S & Iz

[sorceress-coffee]

Trollhunters Episode 5

Changelings! Thank you for reading!

Episode 1 

Episode 4.2 

Episode 6 

I was excited for our trip to the museum today, Mr. Strickler’s class had been invited to the new exhibits that opened today. We were all standing in a group on the steps of the museum, while Ms. Nomura, the museum curator, was telling us about the exhibit.

“I know contemporary media might lead you to believe European history is full of swords, sorcery, and scandal. I assure you the truth is far more interesting, and there’s no better place to start than Renaissance Era pottery.” She exclaimed. I could instantly tell what her favorite pieces of the museum were. Eli and I were the only students that were excited to hear what Ms. Nomura had to say.

Mr. Strickler interrupted her at the groans of his students, “Since we have limited time, Ms. Nomura, perhaps it’s best if they explore the museum on their own. Don’t you think?”

I was pulled in by a sudden rush of students, past Mr. Strickler and Ms. Nomura. I sighed following Jim and Toby around for a while before stopping at the Renaissance Era pottery exhibit that Ms. Nomura had mentioned. Walking in I found Ms. Nomura rearranging one of the exhibits. “You were right, this is an incredible place to start,” I comment, smiling, looking over the artwork etched into the pottery.

Ms. Nomura smiled and walked over to the piece I was admiring. “That is a midnight vase, depicting monsters that were rumored to awaken at midnight and hunt humans.” She explained, pointing to the different markings that look like paintings of trolls. She stepped closer to me and stiffened, eyes wide, staring at me.

I look up, seeing her expression, I frowned concerned, “Ms. Nomura? Are you alright?”

She coughed stepping back, rubbing her nose slightly, “Sorry, I seem to be sensitive to you perfume,’ she explained, sneezing into her arm. “If you’ll excuse me.” She turned, heading over to Mr. Strickler to talk to him.

I was left very confused; I wasn’t wearing perfume. The only thing different from my normal body wash was Draal scenting me last night. I wondered if humans could smell it too. I walked off to find Jim and Toby upstairs. I ran in Toby first, “Hey Tobes, do I smell funny or something?” I asked.

Toby gave me an odd look before sniffing near me. “No, what did you forget to shower or something?” He joked, walking around the museum with me.

“No,” I side ruffling his hair, “I think the curator might be allergic to me, she said she was sensitive to my perfume but I’m not wearing any.” I explained as we passed Eli trying to talk a group of students into believing monsters exist.

“That’s weird,” Toby began, cutting off when Eli mentioned having photographic evidence. “Hey Eli, can we see?” Toby asked, taking his phone before Eli answered.

We looked at the photo and saw a flattened, definitely troll related monster in a selfie with Eli. “Oops!” Toby said, deleting the picture before handing it back to Eli. “Darn these stubby little fingers, gotta go!” He yelled, dragging me along to find Jim.

We found Jim flirting with Claire over by a case holding a gown. “We have a problem,” Toby told Jim quickly.

Jim glanced between us and Claire. “What kind of problem?” he asked.

I was busy distracting Claire, asking her about the play and how rehearsal was going.

Toby gave Jim a quick rundown and we left him to flirt with Claire the rest of the afternoon.

Once out of school, we left for Trollmarket to let Blinky and Aaarrrgghh know what we found. As we entered, Draal was at the steps waiting for me.

Jim jumped back, not expecting to see Draal, “D-Draal! The um… Sun is out, so… yeah,” he said quickly.

I rolled my eyes, having enough of skirting around Draal and Jim, especially since Draal was now courting me. “Relax Jim, Draal’s meeting with me. We’re training.” Draal looked at me surprised; having known I was nervous about letting Jim know.

“You’re training with him?” Toby asked, stunned. “But he hates Jim!”

Jim looked between us, obviously still on edge with Draal around. “Toby, it’s fine.”

“How can you be fine with this? You’re fighting him in two days!” Toby remarked.

“I trust River, that’s why. If she trusts Draal, that’s good enough for me.” He smiled, clasping my shoulder before looking to Draal. “Can you hold off on training? We need to talk to Blinky, there’s a troll related problem on the surface.” Jim asked, trying to be civil.

Draal eyed him for a moment before nodding, “Very well. I will accompany you.”

Toby glared at him; arms crossed over his chest. “Oh, I trust River, but I trust Draal about as far as she can throw him.” He remarked, clueless.

“Then you must have a great deal of trust in me fleshbag.” Draal smirked heading down the gem steps to Trollmarket.

“Wait, what?” Jim asked, looking to me.

I shrugged, “I’m not exactly human, remember? My skill set is very different.” I said, following after Draal.

Toby and Jim followed behind us, into Trollmarket. I looked around and realized the trolls were staring at me in a similar fashion that they had when the saw us for the first time in Trollmarket, complete disbelief. My face heated slightly, realizing this was their reaction to Draal scenting me.

Jim and Toby were looking at the Trolls confused, “What’s going on? Everyone’s acting strange?” Jim asked.

Draal took notice, growling as slamming his fist against the ground, causing the trolls to look away quickly and resume their activities. “It’s not your concern, fleshbag.” He led us into Blinky’s library.

Aaarrrgghh looked up confused seeing Draal enter with us. Sniffing the air, he shook his head with a small smile. Well, that’s one less troll I had to deal with giving me strange looks.

Blinky turned, sniffing the air, jaw-dropping as he looked to all four of us, “You can’t be serious!”

I winced, stepping closer to Draal who gave a low growl. Blinky waved him off, huffing as he handed Aaarrrgghh a smelly bag, most likely filled with socks. I tilt my head in confusion at the exchange.

Aaarrrgghh just grins and says “Bet,” not needing to explain further.

Draal huffed, leaning over me slightly. Irritated realizing that Aaarrrgghh and Blinky as made a bet concerning us and courting.

“Okay, what is going on?” Jim asked, looking between the four of us.

“Don’t you have something to discuss with Blinkous? Or did you stall our training to waste time?” Draal growled out.

I walked to Blinky, explaining the photo Eli took. “It was small, green, and slimy, and it definitely wasn’t a dead cat.”

Blinky frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. “I may know the creature that met its untimely demise in front of your friend’s home. The sun is setting soon, we should go check, just to make sure.” He stated.

“How bad is it Blinky?” I didn’t like his expression; Eli was a friend and I had a sense he was in danger.

Draal nudged my arm, “Why don’t you go with them? You’re worried about the fleshbag, we can afford to take a break from training tonight.”

I smiled and nodded quickly. “Thank you Draal.”

“Let’s hurry, we don’t have time to waste,” Blinky said, rushing Jim and Toby out of the library, Aaarrrgghh right behind them.

“I’m right behind!” I called, hugging Draal tight when they were all out, “Thank you Draal, Eli’s a friend. Stupidly oblivious to danger too.”

He snorts, nuzzling my cheek, “Sounds like you. Hurry, if this is what I think it is, his life could be at risk.” Draal nudges me to the door. “Keep your guard up.”

I nod and quickly take off, catching up to the others quickly as we head out of Trollmarket and into the suburbs of Arcadia Oaks.

Toby led us to Eli’s house, pausing as we near the green smear in the road. “Voila!” He said as Jim grabbed a stick and began poking it.

“Not voila. Goblin.” Aaarrrgghh stated.

“Goblin?” Jim asked pulling back.

“Ruthless tricksters,” Blinky began to explain. “Petty street vandals who leave a wake of destruction. This is not good.” He stood up, hand on his hips.

“Well, justice was served. We should get and train for Draal.” Jim said, tossing the stick.

“Oh, no, Master Jim. Where there is one, there are many. And, as for the unfortunate soul who ran over this small fellow, may Skaargen’s swift blade have mercy!” Blink spat in two of his hands, rubbed them together and hit one over his chest.

“And why is that?” I asked, worried for Eli.

“Naturally, goblin payback is ten-fold,” Blinky stated.

“There’s a delivery note on the door! What if, the goblin got ran over by the delivery truck?” Toby asked, thrusting the not out to us.

Jim took the note reading it over. “If the delivery driver is coming back at eight, we will be here. I’m not gonna let some poor guy become goblin chow on my watch.” Jim stated, determined.

“Master Jim, answering the call!” Blinky threw his hands up, grinning.

“So cool. Stakeout!” Toby was bouncing with excitement, “Past my curfew!” he yelled, throwing his hands up.

Blinky and Jim were hiding behind a bush, watching the front of the house, Aaarrrgghh and Toby were staking out to the left, behind a fence, and I was on the right, sitting up in a tree for a better view, keeping my guard up as Draal had instructed. It was well past time for the delivery driver to show.

“Hey, Tobes, all clear. How’s it going over there?” Jim’s voice called through the walkie talkie hooked to my belt.

“All good in the hood, Trollhunter” came Toby’s out of breath voice, “except that I can’t stop moving. My love of stakeouts is being ruined by my overwhelming need to obtain swag. Other than that, nothing unusual.” Toby’s voice came through, Aaarrrgghh in the background calling Toby unusual. “War hammer, to Midnight, how about there? Out.”

I rolled my eyes at the walkie talkie before grabbing it, “I’m assuming you mean me,” Looking up I spot the truck coming down the street. “The truck is pulling up, out.” I looked around see movement, grabbing the binoculars I began to survey the area, we were completely surrounding. “Jim, they’re everywhere!” I called quickly, pressing further against the tree as the goblins broke the street lights.

“Stay down and don’t make a sound,” Blinky called, whispering, “in their frenzied state they’ll attack anything in their path.”

The Goblin charged, and began to attach the truck.

“Unexpected, their dispute isn’t with the driver at all, but rather the transportation that had flattened their kinsman.” Blinky called. “You must not be afraid Master Jim!”

“I thought the first rule of troll hunting was to always be afraid.” Jim stated, confused.

Aaarrrgghh voice met the fray, “Trolls, not goblins.”

“Goblins crave the pheromone of terror,” Blinky explained, “an odor you appear to be releasing quite generously.”

“They literally smell fear?” I asked.

“Oh, no, I can smell it too!” Toby rang over the walkie talkies.

“Then stop, or they will eat you!” Blinky whisper shouted, as Toby let out another scream, catching the goblins' attention. “Run!” Blinky yelled.

I jumped out of the tree quickly running after everyone, lance at the ready. Aaarrrgghh grabbed Jim and I as we ran and threw us on his back, out of the goblin’s reach.

Toby’s chubby tracker began to beep, alerting him to a free t-shirt as a goblin jumped up and grabbed him, pulling him down. “Toby!” I yelled, Jim grabbed his legs and I used the blunt end of my lance to knock the goblin off of Toby.

We ended up running for Toby’s house, jumping off of Aaarrrgghh’s back, I took a defensive stance as Toby struggled to unlock the door. As the goblins began to climb into the backyard, I bared my teeth in a snarl, ready to fight. Toby finally unlocked the door as the goblins closed in. Toby, Jim, and Blinky ran in. Aaarrrgghh grabbed me by the hood of my jacket and dragged me in before forcing himself through the doorway.

We headed upstairs and Toby sat on his bed, stress eating. I sat with him, stealing the apple on top.

“I’m sorry master Jim, but your town is infested!” Blinky exclaimed, grabbing Jim’s shoulders.

“Okay, trolls, I can deal with because, at least, trolls stay underground. But goblins? I don’t even have the bandwidth to-” Jim began before Toby interrupts him.

“Jim, we gotta get my chubby tracker back. As long as they’ve got it, they’re just gonna get stronger and faster.” He said, picking through the snacks.

Aaarrrgghh took the bowl away from Toby. “Must find den.” He explains before eating the bowl.

“Yes, and eradicate them at once before they seek their revenge.” Blink stated gravely.

“Revenge?” I asked, biting into the apple.

“On you three,” Blinky says, “and they now know where Tobias lives.”

“So, we find their den, you must have some idea,” Jim states, plopping on the bed next to me.

“Haven’t the foggiest.” Blink states before Chompsky’s chattering caught his attention, he kneels to peer inside the dollhouse. “Great Gronka Mora! What is the gnome doing in this dollhouse?!” He asks dramatically, pointing to the dollhouse as he backs away, yelling.

“You told me to take care of the gnome, so we’re taking care of it.” Jim stated.

“This is in direct violation of rule number two!” Blinky starts to lecture.

“Not really, the rule only states he has to finish the fight, how he finishes it isn’t stated, so it’s really up for interpretation.” I speak up quickly.

“And rule number one is to always be afraid, except if you’re around goblins ‘cause they smell fear.” Jim stand, throwing his hands up as he begins pacing. Going off on how he doesn’t understand the rules.

Blinky sighs, “I can only advise, not make your decisions for you. You are a human; you are learning the rules in your own way.” He nods. “Aaarrrgghh and I will seek out this den, wherever it may be.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to track the chubby tracker and monitor where they’re staying the longest?” I speak up, all four boys turning to me, stunned.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Toby whacked his head.

Jim grins, “you need to come on more missions River!” he says, getting the tracking info from Toby.

“Sure, be we need to get some sleep. We have to go to class in a few hours.” I said standing. “good night guys!” I said, walking home with Jim, we crashed on the couch, deciding it would be better in case the goblins tried attacking tonight.

After school the next day we had tracked the goblins to the museum, once the sun was down, we headed over to check it out. Toby pointed to the roof, “check it out! They’re already here! Let’s go,” he said quickly, not wanting to go inside.

We were about to turn when I spotted Ms. Nomura walking into the museum. “Oh, no! It’s Ms. Nomura! She has no idea it’s infested; we have to help her.” I said quickly.

Jim nodded as Toby went on a tangent of what goblins could possibly do to her. We snuck in through an open window, staying low as we went through the museum looking for her. We ran into a couple goblins patrolling and quickly hid behind a display. Jim and I were watching the goblins as Toby began to whimper, whacking at my arm. He began to stutter, saying Ms. Nomura’s face was ugly and troll like. I rolled my eyes at him, thinking he was stressed from the goblins walking around.

Right as the goblins were leaving, Toby’s phone began to go off as the chubby tracker app alerted him to another free item.

“Turn it off!” Jim whispered yelled to Toby.

“I’m trying!” Toby yelled back, quietly.

As I looked behind the pillar to see the goblins, I felt a presence behind us.

A low chuckle sounded from behind us. “I knew I detected the stink of teenage flesh.” I whipped around to see Ms. Nomura had turned into a troll. Toby and Jim screamed, taking off running. I snarled quickly following after them into a curtained off room, lance out I took a defensive stance. “but a human Trollhunter and a witch, that I’ve never tasted.” Nomura snarled, closing in on us.

I swung my lance down, forcing her back so Jim could armor up. “Then let’s see how you like the taste of Daylight.” Jim taunted, pulling the amulet out, donning the armor quickly. He slashed daylight at her and she caught it easily, cackling at Jim’s effort. “What are you?” He asked, stunned.

“I’m what kills you!” She snarled, using the blade to slam Jim into the floor.

“Getaway from him!” I yelled, lunging at her, blade dragging on the floor before sweeping up throwing her across the room.

Jim and I switched back and forth as she charged us, easily taking us both on. She slammed me into the stone structure hidden in the room, knocking the wind out of my lungs, I groaned collapsing to the floor. She turned on Jim, stalking forward and the goblins flanked her. A tapestry had fallen on Jim during the fight. He groaned, sitting up, facing Nomura as she cackled.

“This was fun. Now, you’re history.” She sneered, blades poised to strike, kicking Daylight out of Jim’s hand. “All that fancy armor and you’re just a scared little boy.” She cackled.

Toby was helping me to my feet, I screamed as Nomura made to strike, trying to rush forward.

Jim smirked, grabbing the tapestry “Arrogance gets you killed!” He yelled, pulling the tapestry out from under Nomura’s feet, causing her to land on a goblin, killing it. The other goblins began to snarl, attacking Nomura for killing their kinsmen.

“Let’s go!” Jim yelled, helping Toby stabilize me, getting us out of the museum quickly.

Next thing I know, we’re being arrested.