Seven days. Seven days spent living with the human, and two with that chutzpah-filled Gnome. It wasn’t that Finner disliked either of them – or at least he didn’t dislike them as much as he pretended to – but he was beginning to grow weary. Both of them were definitely an… acquired taste. Here in the quiet of the sunset woods with the grass and pine needles crunching softly under his hooves, he was more than grateful to finally be able to breathe.

Rest was easy down by the waters of the river that fed into Finner’s beloved lake. He vividly recalled being younger and led down there by his father once or twice a week to race leaves on the current and learn how to play songs. 

Oh, Finner, what would he think of you now?

He didn’t want to think about that. He knew he’d gone softer than he should’ve. His father had never been a rough or cruel man, but he was stern and steadfast, directed and level-headed. Finner got the feeling he wouldn’t exactly be proud if he could see his son’s tangled feelings about Esko’s striking eyes and Astrid’s sunny smile. It was surprisingly easy connecting with the Gnome, especially after having witnessed her lionhearted nature. Finner still thought she was a bit too chatty, but she was fearsome, and that was a trait he could easily get behind. Esko, on the other hand, made everything feel messier every time they exchanged words. Humans were an evil species, more monstrous than any legend could portray, and Esko’s story had only served to make that abundantly clear, but Finner found himself looking at Esko as the exception. After all, that boy seemed to despise humanity even more than most Trolls did. It probably should’ve been concerning, watching the obvious emotional pain course through him and form into rage. 

Finner felt it was all a little too much, a little too fast. It was nice to just sit and play a quiet melody to finally let his thoughts unwind.

It was also quite short-lived, life severed by the sound of someone crashing rapidly through the brush, forcing Finner to whirl around in surprise. A whirl of blonde hair raced past him, golden tones and white dress billowing in the wind created by the individual’s speed. After them, with something like rage evident in its eyes, was a goose.

What the-?

Whoever it was made a beeline for the nearest tree and instantly began to climb – or rather, attempted to climb. Trolls were not terribly arboreal creatures, that much was known. The unknown blonde figure threw themself up towards the branches, but to no avail.

Like a famished wolf, the goose closed in on his prey.

Finner struck. Just a single chord played upon his instrument, and the feathered beast turned its head to face him. Two, three, four more and he’d caught the thing in a trance. It was a ridiculously simple melody, nothing at all like what he usually played to lure in prey, but it worked. Like a moth to a flame, the goose waddled obediently over to him and stood there watching him with expectant, beady eyes.

The stranger, who appeared to be a young woman around Finner’s age, made her way over as well. Crap, I hadn’t meant to-

“That was awesome! Thank you so much for doing that, I seriously thought it was gonna bite me to death like a dinosaur!”

Her voice rang clear as bells across the landscape, as melodic and confident as Finner’s music, beautiful and haunting as kulning ringing over the fields and mountains. Perhaps that was something she did on the regular.

Bright blue eyes and an equally bright smile made their way swiftly to the scaly Troll’s side. If he hadn’t known any better, Finner would’ve figured he was being approached by a fragment of the sun. “Hi, I’m Greta!” she half-sang as one of her hands swung out to shake Finner’s. “It’s so nice to see another Troll out here! I thought I was all alone.”

Gripping her hand in a grip he hoped wasn’t too tight or too loose, Finner gave her hand a few semi-confident shakes before replying. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Finner.”

“Finner?” Greta asked, mouth forming an ‘o’ shape for a heartbeat before returning to a smile. “So you’re one of those water Trolls! I’ve never met one of you before! No wonder you look so soggy…”

Finner had to make a very valiant effort not to be offended. Something told him it wasn’t intended as an insult, but it was still the kind of thing that made him want to deck someone in the face. Not productive right now in the slightest.

Her tail, tufted like that of a cow, swung over the rock to one side of him as she moved to perch there. Like a fairytale maiden, she adjusted her skirts and folded her hands politely in her lap, grinning. “It’s so good to see another Troll again, I swear. I left home months ago and haven’t seen anyone since! Where’s your group? I can’t wait to meet everyone!”

Group? What was she talking about? Trolls were solitary creatures, weren’t they? For his whole life, it had only been Finner and his father… and now only Finner and his two situational companions. “I… don’t have one,” he admitted stiffly after a moment. “It’s just me and two others.”

Bad decision, telling her that. She bowled him over like an excited hound, gasping in what he assumed was joyful surprise. “Two others? Can I meet them? Please? I promise I can help out to earn my keep!”

No. Finner bit his tongue when the word struck through him like an angry bolt of lightning. No, you can’t. I’m not putting Esko in danger. Ever.

Too late.

“HEY, MÖRÖKÖLLI! IT’S BEAR FOR DINNER AGAIN!” Esko shouted from a little ways downstream, standing like a menacing beanpole on one of the rocks. “C’MON, LET’S GO BEFORE IT GETS COLD!”

Greta stood up in an instant, grinning like an excited dog. “You have a human?!”

“If you hurt him, I swear to the Wild-” Finner began as he shot to his feet in a surge of protective instinct. He was cut off when he saw how warmly Greta was smiling.

“A real, alive human! I’ve never seen one before!” she exclaimed, quickly making her way along the rocks of the riverbank to go greet Esko. “What’s your name? Mine’s Greta!”

“Esko,” the pale-haired boy had already replied by the time Finner got up there. The dying light of the sun spread across his face and danced in the blue of his eyes like fire seen through glass, something that made Finner’s heart briefly try to switch up the rhythm of its beat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Greta. I assume you’ve already met Finner?”

“Mhm!” Greta nodded enthusiastically. “He used his music to save me from a goose. Really can’t thank him enough.”

Esko laughed, moving to smirk at Finner. “So now you’re a goose vanquisher?” he teased. Normally Finner would’ve bit back with something that voiced his displeasure, but something about seeing Esko joking and smiling freely made him keep his mouth shut.

“It’s still down there,” the dark-haired Troll informed Esko after a moment, adjusting his equally dark hat on his head and slinging his fiddle over his back. “Personally, I vote we get going back to camp before it breaks the trance and decides to go back on a murder spree. C’mon.”

---

Hopping along the rocks, one after the other, the trio made it back to the camp in no time. Greta’s hair blazed a brilliant tone of gold in the sunset, her smile sweet like honey when she met and got acquainted with Astrid. Across the fire, the two girls sat and talked, both loud and brash personalities blazing in the night together like friendly flames while the boys sat on the other side and burned low like contented embers.

“I wonder what her story is,” Esko said between bites of bear meat, which was nowhere near as nice as a home-cooked meal, but was unfortunately all they had at the moment. “She said she comes from a big group, so what made her travel alone?” 

“Well, it’s not really my business,” Finner replied, staring blankly into the flames, “But I hope she’s not dangerous, at the very least. I know it’s unlikely, but…” I care about you and your wellbeing. 

“You can never be too careful, I understand.”

Oh, you have no idea.

“Something like that,” Finner confirmed after a moment of silence, watching the firelight dance across his shining scales and the pale skin of Esko’s hands and face. “I really don’t think she’s a threat, but I have to be wary anyways. The safety of you, me, and Astrid should come first and foremost.”

“How’s the bear taste?”

“Not bad. You and Astrid were right to cook this stuff. Adding herbs and roasting it really makes a difference.”

“You were eating raw meat before we met?” Esko inquired with a certain wrinkle to his nose in a tone of semi-disgusted surprise.

“I live in water. You can’t exactly cook things over a fire if you’re aquatic,” Finner replied with slight disdain in his tone, but shrugged off the issue quickly. “Where’d you learn to make it like this?”

“I didn’t. My parents taught me to cook, but Astrid and I just threw a bunch of herbs together and roasted it. Frankly, I’m surprised the flavors actually work. Did you know there’s mint in this?”

Finner’s ear twitched. “Is that where that flavor is coming from? I knew I recognized it. Sometimes you can taste the diet of an animal in its meat.”

For a moment, when he glanced into Esko’s eyes, Finner could’ve sworn he saw them spark with something like admiration for the very first time. Admiration and… joy. Safe, warm joy. It didn’t matter that it was frozen over less than a heartbeat later by Esko’s usual frosty cover. Just a glimpse of that spark was all Finner needed to know that their little group would be okay.