Song of the Vikings - Draal x OC

12. Return of the Trollhunter

Streetlamps hummed softly in the cool night air. The Arcadia streets were silent, save for the single car engine of a paper boy, halfheartedly tossing them onto the lawns as he drove by.

Yawning, the kid reached over to grab another paper before turning back to the road and letting out a scream. He slammed on the brakes as Toby raced in front of him, rolling over the hood of the car.

"Holy moly!" Toby yelled. He scrambled back to his feet and kept running, leaving the paper boy confused as to what just happened.

Running down the alley as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, Toby gasped for air. "Oh, what are you doing, Tobes? Only an idiot races a creature with four legs!"

Making a few quick turns, the boy was then faced with a fence.

"I can do this!" Toby declared, still out of breath. He jumped, grabbing the top of the fence and struggled to pull himself up. The old fence gave out under his weight, both it and the boy falling to the ground with an 'oomph'.

"Whoa!" Toby yelled, looking back over his shoulder at the approaching beast. A fiery hellcat was stalking down the alleyway, its eyes locked on Toby's retreating figure with a crackling growl.

"Hop on!" Jim yelled, skidding to a stop in front of his friend, reaching out his hand. Toby grabbed his hand and pulled himself up and onto the back of Jim's new Vespa.

"Go, go, go, go!" Toby yelped, the hellcat breaking into a sprint.

Jim revved the engine, smirking. "Adios, fire cat!"

Pushing his foot down on the pedal, the scooter didn't move.

"Hey, maybe save the jokes for when we aren't gonna die," Toby piped up, glancing over his shoulder at the creature behind them.

Jim groaned. "Come on!"

With another push, the Vespa roared to life and Jim floored it, the fire cat still following close behind.

"I can't believe you took that stupid rock to your science class!" Jim huffed, swerving around a street corner.

"First," Toby retorted, "It's not a rock. Its volcanic slag. And how was I supposed to know there was a flaming monster hiding in it?!"

"You bought a magic rock off a troll named 'Mervin the Monster Dealer' - what did you think was gonna happen, Tobes?!"

Jim made a sharp turn down another alleyway where Blinky, Arrrgh, Kit, and Draal were waiting.

"Blinky, please tell me you got it," Jim panted, dismounting the bike and tossing his helmet to the side.

"Of course, Master Jim," Blinky declared, gesturing to the space behind them. "You've lured the luminaire right into our stratagem."

Arrrgh grumbled, sniffing a random item from the alley. "Stra-ta-gem?"

"It means trap," Kit replied, scratching the troll behind his ears. Draal rolled his eyes.

Growling crackles sounded behind the group. Kit spun around to be faced with the fiery cat. Curling their hands into first, Kit pushed Jim and Toby back towards Arrrgh. They stepped forward next to Blinky in a protective position, Draal not far behind.

"What are you waiting for?" Jim yelled, throwing his hands up. "Throw it!"

Blinky cleared his throat. "Um, Master Jim," he began, his lecturing voice ringing through the alley, "you said this was a luminaire, when that is obviously an infernal hellheeti."

From behind Arrrgh, Jim and Toby grabbed some nearby items from the trash cans, throwing them at the hellheeti.

"Should I punch it?" Draal questioned, Arrrgh growling in agreement.