Changling Families

Love is Strange

Warning: This chapter has  a moment that is somewhere between an orange and a lime. Just hinting at something happening... Damn...never thought I would actually end up using the citrus scale...that went out of use just before I started writing fanfic...

Bagdwella looked over her bags and supplies, contemplating bringing her wagon with her. 

"What do you think, Nolla?" She looked down at the gnome on her table, "Should we bring the wagon?"

Nolla chittered at her,  still saying goodbye to  her mate and young. Bagdwella rolled her eyes.

"Bagdwella?"

The trolless turned toward the voice and saw that it was Stricklander, the Trollhunter's changling spy, with his family.

"Are you going out tonight?"he asked.

"I had planned on it," she called back, Nolla crawling up to her shoulder,"Why?"

"Be  extra careful tonight," the changling warned, "Bular's been in a bad  mood lately and he'll be prowling tonight."

Bagdwella gave him one of her best  grinns, "Thank you, Stricklander. But I can take care of myself."

Despite what she said, Bagdwella was glad that the spy was amongst them. He always warned the citizens of Heartstone Trollmarket if they had to be extra careful of Bular.  She had often been the one to watch Stricklander's whelp when Blinky and Arrrgh were  unavailable.

Gathering her bags, and making  sure Nolla was ready to go, Bagdwella made her way to the chrystal staircase. She knew that the sun would still be out but that didn't bother her to much.  She liked to watch the sun set before she set out scavenging. She sat in the shadow of the bridge,  Nolla resting  on her headband, and watched the sun  she would never see clearly sink behind the hills that surrounded Arcadia Oaks(1).

With a smile, Bagdwella shifted her bags and ran out into the canal. Each step she took  caused a light 'tap' to echo off the cement. It didn't take long to find a place to  start scavenging. Bagdwella hung  into the  dumpster and let Nolla scurry around on her own. Her legs hung out of the dumpster, her feet hanging off the ground, while they searched for anything they could sell in the shop. 

"Chitta chit!" Nolla held a large metal disc above her head.

"Oh! Let me see that!"

The gnome  plopped the disk into Bagdwella's waiting hands and scurried up her arm. The trolless dropped back to the ground and brushed her ruby bangs out of her eyes in order to get a better look. The disk reflected the moonlight perfectly. She had no doubt that it  would sell fast.(2)

"EEEEE! Chit chit chit!" Nolla began jumping about and screeching in terror.

Bagdwella jumped,  clutching the disk to her chest in surprise, and turned to see what had frightened the gnome. Bular the Black stood at the end of the allyway, red eyes glinting in the light of the full moon.

Bagdwella screamed. She dropped the disk and backed as close to the dumpster as she could, squeezing her eyes shut. 

After a moment of nothing happening, Bagdwella chanced opening  her eyes. Bular was still standing at the end of the alley, but his sword had fallen from his hand and now lay by his feet. Bagdwella took a deap breath and stood to her full hight.

Bular peered down at her, "You're not scared. Why?"

Bagdwella met his eyes, "If-If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me."

The monstrous troll growled and scooped up his sword. Bagdwella gasped and backed  against the dumpster once more. But Bular simply turned and marched away.