Baby Steps

Chapter 9

120 years old (Part 1):

When Blinky first met Jim, he had to admit that he was skeptical. A fleshbag trollhunter? He wasn't considered big for his species, and he was no older than a child. Still, Blinky had unshakeable faith in Merlin's amulet; if Jim was chosen, then he was the right choice. So Blinky trained him.

The two grew close, and Blinky admitted to himself that Jim was someone he considered a son, in all but blood. The boy needed a father in his life, and Blinky wanted to fill that empty space. Blinky found himself thinking; he had survived the deaths of two trollhunters so far, but if Jim was killed, he didn't think he would be able to simply carry on, as he had made himself do twice before.

So he trained Jim hard: harder than he had trained anyone ever before. He grew stronger, maturing from a nervous, skinny young boy to a calm young man who could conquer anything he set his mind to. And still, Blinky worried; with every single one of the trollhunter's achievements, Blinky felt extremely proud, but so worried that he could hardly breath.

When Jim fought Bular, Blinky was waiting with baited breath, convinced that this was it, that he would lose his son in that battle, that we would have to bury yet another piece of his heart- and yet, seemingly inescapable fate was flipped.

And then so soon after Jim was lost in the Darklands. Blinky would never forget the fear which gripped his heart at his dangerous move, or the terrible relief when Jim finally returned. That was the meat of the matter- Jim was hopelessly brave and selfless, and Blinky couldn't help but love him for it. Sometimes Blinky wanted to shake him, to ask why he had done something so self-sacrificing and stupid, but he knew that Jim would only say that he had to.

Blinky had lost a brother, he had lost the only family he had ever had, but this was the start of something new. The losses of the past must not be allowed to affect the love of the present and the happiness of the future. With the love of Aargh and the friendship of Jim, Claire, and Toby, Blinky felt happier than he had for decades.