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Chapter Text

Delilah sprinted down the riverbed, letting out sharp whistles on occasion to keep the beasts following her. She spotted a dead hill monster and darted toward it, whistling again. The spiders clicked after her, slowing when she ran straight up it. Delilah flipped back and swiftly drove her sword into the body of the one she had landed on. It squelched and green blood, or whatever it was that spiders had inside, poured out. Delilah drew her sword from its back and lunged at the next one, sweeping its head off. The third realized what was happening and turned, fleeing.

After a moment of consideration, Delilah let it go. If she killed every spider she came across, there would eventually be none left.

The gray troll turned to the dead hill monster, removing the first spider's head almost absently. Double tap or direct head shot. That was safest. She looked up at the dead monster again, directing some of her hair out of her face. According to legend, her ancestors kept their hair straight up. Delilah thought that would be a waste of energy and kept her black hair hanging down and lose while she wasn't using it.

"What killed you?" she asked the hill monster. It didn't answer. Maybe it had eaten something bad for it. She would have to check that it hadn't been poisoned, but if all was well, her people could eat it for quite some time. It would reduce the food shortages.

Delilah let out a series of clipped whistles and her ears twitched as nine of her people landed nearby. They stared up at the dead hill monster with horrified awe. Delilah let them stare for a moment before she ordered, "Five of you, take these back." She pointed at the spiders she'd killed. "Make sure you get the heads and harvest the poison." When five trolls moved, she turned to the four that remained. "Ash, Switch," she pretended that Switch's wink didn't make her smile, "you two stay here. If we don't come back, inform the others that we're gone. Dew, Puff, let's head in. Be on guard. It's possible that there are other scavengers present."

The trolls took guard positions and she led Dew and Puff into its open mouth, listening to their footsteps. Dew swiftly sliced off the tongue, knowing that the tongue was useful for the elderly, and followed Delilah. The three gray trolls moved silently through the corpse of the beast. Digestive acid had eaten away parts of its own flesh and Puff almost fell into a puddle of it. Dew and Delilah swiftly caught him, pushing him back from it.

Puff nodded his thanks and looked ahead. He was one of the older river trolls, not as agile as he had once been. While a skilled fighter, Puff had lost some of his easy motion and automatic skill in evasive motions. Delilah didn't speak in unknown territory. She motioned for him to wait and keep an eye on the area. Puff nodded, gray eyes apologetic, and stepped back.

Delilah and Dew glanced at each other, both wishing they hadn't seen Puff's ears flatten back in shame. The two moved on, avoiding acid and blood. So far, they hadn't found anything that wasn't normal with the beast dying of natural causes. Then Dew spotted a foot. An immense, long clawed, foot.

The two trolls carefully approached, following the foot up a leg, waist, gnarled hand, chest, and finally a face. They looked blankly at it, then at each other. Delilah covered her nose with one hand. Probably poisonous. Smelled bad enough. Dew climbed up its body and examined its clothes.

"It's dressed like a chef," she whispered. "Must have had some kind of poison, turncoat?"

The river trolls had mixed feelings about traitors. They understood that some creatures were too weak to protect themselves, and would give in to others to save themselves. They also knew that there were tricksters and thieves, who had strength of their own and used it to betray those around them. Other times, there would be a difference in beliefs that caused a schism. Being ancestors of the third kind, river trolls primarily decided that those who used their strength against others were the cowards.

Delilah's father, King Spark, often said, "If you think you can win, fight. If you do not think you can win, only fight if it is to protect one that you love. But never, ever enter a battle thinking of failure." Almost all river trolls adhered to those words.

"Should I take its pack?"

Delilah looked up, but she couldn't see Dew anymore. "Yes. But be careful."

A moment later, a strange pocket of a bag landed next to her. Delilah cut off the side that was under the chef in case they wanted to carry it, but when she lifted it she found that the acid had dripped a giant hole into it. Useless. Delilah found a zipper and waited for Dew to drop down before she pointed at it. Dew nodded and the two trolls pulled it open. Delilah stood back, keeping it open, and Dew hopped in.

Delilah's ears twitched and flipped forward at Dew's gasp. A moment later, Dew emerged with a dull purple troll with pastel and neon hair that started blue and rose to green, and dirty yellow pants. Most of his hair was badly damaged, hacked and torn, but also evidently a victim of the acid. They stared at him, processing the color. Dew checked for a pulse and nodded. Delilah helped her get the colored troll down, almost expecting her gray skin to turn back to its original deep purple when she touched him. She had no doubt that Dew expected her cobalt coloring to return.

The gray trolls looked at each other, Dew taking his legs and Delilah taking his shoulders. Delilah paused to draw her hand back and look at the rainbow staining on her fingers. That wasn't the color she wanted to see. Troll blood, even that of gray trolls, had a shining variety of color. This colorful troll was wounded. Delilah grimaced and lifted him more carefully.

She and Dew darted back through the corpse, Dew whistling to tell Puff it was them approaching, not a predator. Puff was in motion as soon as they caught up, staring down at the colored troll. Delilah grimly showed him her hand. They met Ash and Switch outside and, after a quick silent conversation, Dew and Delilah set the colored troll down.

"Ash, go get-" Ash was gone before she could think of a doctor, but she knew that her friend would get someone who could keep a secret. "Switch, something for fire. Puff, we're finding things for a stretcher." Switch darted off, wide eyes showing that he had reached the same conclusion that they would need fire to fight off any predators because they might be staying there for a while. The only thing that wouldn't be scared off by fire was uncommon, and if it found them, they were dead no matter what.

Delilah glanced at Dew, then darted off with Puff.

Dew hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the bright color of the trolls hair. It stood up, she noticed, even in its mangled state. She jumped when his bracelet lit up with color and let out a musical tone. Dew leaned toward it, then froze when she realized that he had opened bright blue eyes. Her mind devolved into panic, insisting that she shouldn't punch him, punching was bad, wait, should she speak? What should she say?

"H~i," she squeaked out.

"No!" The colored troll wrenched his body back. "No, no!"

Dew looked around with a panicked expression, making shushing motions with her hands. The colored troll stared at her, then moaned and covered his head with both hands. His hair moved, but it didn't do anything more than that. She stared at it, a sick feeling coiling in the base of her stomach. She looked down at his feet, realizing that the coloring was fading out.

"No...Princess!" Dew didn't care about keeping her voice down. The first colored troll since everyone had died, and he was graying. "Princess!" Dew's voice rose in a panicked cry.

Delilah landed in a crouch in front of them. "Puff threw me. What's-" She stopped, staring at the gray, which had spread to the trolls midsection and fingers. "No, not after all this time." She grabbed the colored troll's shoulders. "Please, don't gray, we need your color."

The troll didn't look at her, Puff sprinting up just in time to see the tips of his turquoise hair gray completely. Puff's eyes widened in dismay, his knees falling to the ground that was wet with spider blood.

The colored troll shivered violently, then slumped to the side, unconscious again.

Delilah sat back, tears of anger and frustration in her eyes. She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes, and turned to Puff.

"Go back and get the supplies we gathered. It should be enough."

Puff didn't move for a moment, staring forlornly, but slowly rose and left more slowly than he had come.

"What happened?" Delilah looked at Dew.

Dew sniffled, struggling to keep it together. "He tried to use his hair, but it wouldn't move," she whispered. "I think the damage is worse than we thought."

Delilah was quiet for a moment, then she awkwardly reached out and touched Dew's shoulder. Unless a troll was injured, river trolls avoided contact with anyone other than those already receiving their emotional affection, be it family or mate. Contact was uncomfortable, unnatural, and risked being unable to do battle in an instant. But in this case, with a colored troll graying before their eyes, the princess of the river trolls felt that it was appropriate to make an exception.

Ash and Switch returned at the same time and Switch started making the fire while Conifer, the doctor Ash had brought, began examining the other troll. If he noticed that Delilah still had a hand on Dew's shoulder, he didn't comment. Delilah removed her hand anyway. The flames blazed to life, warm and crackling at their backs, and Switch started placing torches in a circle around them.

Delilah sat back as Conifer worked, watching their surroundings. They would need food. She looked back at Ash and Conifer, smiling faintly as their arms pressed together as they worked. Ash was evidently a little more than Conifer's assistant. Maybe a little more love would restore their color. Conifer and Ash were both older than Delilah, but she still remembered when Ash was a warm shade of orange. Switch had told her that both Conifer and Puff had once been green, and that he, personally, had been deep crimson.

Switch nodded to Delilah and she rose, walking over to him. "I'm going to run and get food. Care to join me?" He glanced at the unconscious troll meaningfully.

"Gladly." Delilah motioned to Puff to keep watch, glancing around for a hint of color in the dark trees that would warn of a pyrlux. Seeing none, she nodded to Switch and leapt into motion with him. They darted through the trees as shadows, blending perfectly with the darkness.

Finally, Switch said, "They're alive."

"You think so too?"

Switch nodded. "It means we have a chance. We can't live like this forever."

Delilah flipped over a dozing vine caterpillar, glancing back to make sure that it wasn't following them. She would have to remember it was there and make sure it didn't make a nest. "You're right."

Switch kept moving in silence for a moment. "Princess," he said at last. Delilah glanced at him, waiting. "Delilah." She almost tripped and quickly recovered, scolding herself. "You don't have to be the princess around me." Switch glanced at her. "I won't judge you for worrying."

Delilah smiled just slightly. "You're jealous," she teased.

"Am not," he muttered, obviously wanting to protest more loudly but keeping his voice down as they got closer to the village.

"You saw me touch Dew and you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous," he grumbled. "I'm just...wondering if we weren't, if we didn't think of each other the same way."

Delilah sped up and landed in front of him, swiveling back to face him. Switch stopped quickly so he didn't run into her. "Let me think," Delilah said slowly, moving closer to him. She could hear her village nearby and trusted that they were close enough to be safe. "Who has been my best friend since I started training? Who fought side by side with me against a pyrlux when it came too close to the village? Who always reminds me to look ahead, and protect our future? Who encourages me to be more than the princess my father expects? Who memorized all of the songs in-"

"We said not to speak of that," Switch said, lips pursed in an embarrassed attempt not to smile as he covered her mouth with one hand. "River trolls don't sing."

"Then you're not a very good river troll," she murmured, pulling his hand down from her mouth and leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. "And yet, the princess of the river trolls, the one called the best river troll, loves you."

Switch smiled at her, a soft rosy color sweeping over him for an instant. Delilah drew back quickly, startled, and Switch stared at his soft pink hands. He lifted startled green, green eyes to her, a grin splitting across his face. With a laugh that he barely remembered to keep quiet, he hugged her tightly. Delilah hugged him back, watching the color deepening into a beautiful crimson, just like he had said.

"I guess that rainbow troll really did give us a push in the right direction for happiness," she murmured, letting go willingly when Switch stepped back to stare at himself again. Delilah glanced around quickly, making sure that nothing had approached in her moment of inattentiveness.

"It wasn't him, it was you," Switch said, looking up at his deep yellow hair. "It was you, Delilah." She smiled, but her smile faltered when his own dropped. "Why don't you have color? Do I not make you happy?"

Delilah instantly frowned, lightly poking his orange nose. "Hardly. I love you." She glanced toward the village and Switch made a sound of understanding.

"You'll be the best queen in centuries," he promised, gently pushing some of her black hair from her face. "Color or no."

"And you'll be the best king." Delilah turned and darted onward before he could process that.

It took a little longer than she expected for him to squawk and race after her, calling, "Wait, what?"

Delilah allowed herself a laugh and sped up, entering the village. She glanced around to nod greetings to the other gray trolls, pausing to wait for Switch to catch up. King Spark saw her and walked over, his whole body freezing to a stop when Switch slowly stepped in.

"Uh, hello, your majesty," Switch said softly, bowing his body in half.

"S-S-Switch? Y-Y-You...c-c-c-color!"

Everyone was staring as Switch straightened. "Well, considering that your daughter just proposed and ran away before I could accept-"

Delilah shoved him gently, lips pressed together.

"P-P-Proposed?" 

"Dad, you're always talking about how much you like Switch anyway," Delilah reminded the king, walking past him to pick up a large food pack. As an afterthought, she grabbed two small ones and placed them in the pack. She swung them over her back and walked back over to the two male trolls.

"It's not like we'd get married right away. We have work to do, and you're still young," Switch added, leaning over to touch his red lips to her gray cheek. King Spark's eyes brightened for an instant as purple blossomed where Switch had touched, but he watched as his daughter surveyed the gray village where they lived and it turned dark again.

"Plenty of work," she agreed quietly, leaning into Switch for a moment. Then she straightened and addressed her father, "We're heading back out. My team currently includes Ash, Conifer, Puff, Dew, Switch, and myself. If you need us, ask Felt or Velvet. They retrieved our prey and we haven't relocated."

"Understood. Switch, wait a moment." The king looked at Switch, who nodded to Delilah. She darted away. Switch focused on the king, already expecting what he was about to say. "If you hurt her, I will destroy you, color or not."

"I would give my life if it meant she could live hers," Switch replied easily. "I really do love her, your majesty."

Spark studied him. He knew that the troll before him was barely old enough to remember their first relocation, when the pyrlux had attacked and forced the river trolls to flee to the water, losing many lives and their home. Delilah had only been a baby at the time, Switch perhaps in his first or second year of training. Spark regretted the loss of the troll's parents. They had been two of his best warriors. His friends.

"Then you have my blessing." He nodded his head to the young warrior.

Switch tried not to smile as he bowed again. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Call me Spark," the king said, waving one hand to dismiss Switch. Switch bowed again, smiling brilliantly, and sprinted after Spark's daughter.

None of them noticed a yellow flicker of watching eyes that was hidden in the darkness.

Dew was still staring at Switch as they carried the no-longer-rainbow troll to the village. It had taken Conifer well into the middle of the night, but he finally deemed the troll stable. Puff, Conifer, and Ash were staring at Switch too, but less obviously. It occurred to Delilah that Switch was probably one of the first colored river trolls Dew had ever seen. Dew wouldn't touch him, but her amazement was visible.

The stretcher that Delilah and Puff had made held up well, not even trembling as they moved. Delilah glanced around for the vine caterpillar, but didn't see it. It must have been passing through. She made a mental note to look for it later, just in case.

There were a few guards on duty when they approached and the gray shadows came close to make sure it was them, then departed again. The trolls not carrying the stretcher departed to get some rest and Delilah returned what was left of the food to the community 'snack bar'. She walked over to Conifer, making sure that he was fine with keeping an eye on the de-rainbowed troll for the night, then joined Switch on the way to their pod to get some rest.

"Tomorrow is a training day," Switch commented, resting on curled leaves with a sigh.

"Yep. We've gotten quite a few spiders. It might be bad if it continues, but for now we have plenty of food. Move over." She barely waited for him to move before she collapsed onto the leaf. "Maybe tomorrow we could think of things we might want for the wedding."

"Mm," he agreed, one arm around her and the other free to grab the knife by their bed. "Well...I definitely want you there. That's a good place to start."

Delilah smiled, feigning thinking. "You're right, I want me there too. I think I'd be okay if you weren't there, though."

Switch gasped loudly. "Ouch, princess."

Delilah shifted to press a kiss to his lips. "Then again, I suppose there wouldn't be a point to it if you weren't there."

"That sounds better." He smiled faintly. "Can you believe this," he murmured next, raising his red hand to his face. He moved his gaze to Delilah. "If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to see you with color, Delilah."

Delilah smiled back. "If it's you, I believe it." The two trolls closed their eyes almost simultaneously and Delilah followed her partner into sleep.

 Delilah opened her eyes and looked around, brushing back the leaves. Switch stirred next to her, drowsily rubbing his eyes.

"Morning already?" he mumbled.

"It is. I had a weird dream."

"Mm?" He slowly sat up, yawning.

"I was calling the rainbow troll River...and he was upset with me for being rude when he woke up here."

"Dreaming about other men? Ouch."

Delilah flicked his ear. "You were there too. You kept trying to mediate, but..."

"What?" Switch focused on her, recognizing her worried expression. "Delilah, what's wrong?"

"You just said, you said that we had to keep moving, because the village was gone and the pyrlux had killed everyone." Switch stared at her. She shook her head sharply. "We should increase patrols at night. And check for pyrlux marks."

Switch's eyes widened. "You think so?"

"It might have been my subconscious trying to warn me. Even if it's nothing, I don't want to hold anything back when it comes to protecting my people."

Switch hopped off of the leaves and stretched. "I'll go start organizing the extra patrols. Maybe for part of the training today you should practice evacuations. It's been a while."

Delilah nodded. "You're right, there. I'm going to check on Conifer first."

He chuckled. "Be nice to River."

"It was just a dream."

"You don't want to be on the wrong side of the river," he teased in response, making her groan at the old punchline to a joke that no one remembered.

Delilah rolled her eyes and walked out, smiling faintly when he briefly made a spike of his colored hair dart into her path. After a moment of hesitation, Delilah allowed herself to be childish and turned back, sticking out her tongue. Switch looked startled and she darted away before he could react. She had been doing a lot of that recently.

Conifer was asleep when she quietly entered, and Ash was sitting by the rainbow troll with his head tipped back, snoring softly. Delilah muffled a laugh with one hand, turning her gaze on the rainbow troll. She blinked, realizing that his eyes were open.

Be nice, Delilah reminded herself, deciding to take a course of action that went as far as possible from her strange dream. "Hey." She spoke softly to alert him to her presence, noticing him flinch. He didn't sit up. "How're you feeling?"

The rainbow troll was silent and Delilah walked closer to him, taking a seat on the side opposite Ash. Ash snorted and shifted, resuming his quiet snoring. Delilah and the rainbow troll both looked at him. Delilah hesitated, then did something that river trolls typically didn't do. She attempted to gossip.

"That's Ash, and the doctor lying behind him is Conifer," she murmured. "Ash has the biggest crush on Conifer, but Conifer is totally oblivious."

The rainbow troll turned his head to look at her. "Sometimes it works best to tell the other one before everything falls apart."

Delilah nodded grimly. "Definitely. Ash can't talk to him unless it's about the hunts, though." She paused. "Or you, I suppose, because he got him to come meet us when we pulled you out of the hill monster."

The rainbow troll looked straight up again, eyes shadowed. "You shouldn't have done that," he whispered. "I don't deserve to live."

Delilah blinked. "You, you don't?" she asked uncertainly. She didn't know how to proceed with that statement. "Why do you say that?"

He looked at her. "I loved someone, and it fell apart," he whispered. "And it was all my fault."

Delilah pressed her palms to her knees. That meant there were other rainbow trolls. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked at last, trying not to push him.

"No," he whispered, looking upward again.

The river troll thought for a moment, then carefully rerouted her mind. Starting over. "That's okay. I'm Delilah. You're in the village of the river trolls."

"Cr-" The rainbow troll stopped. "River."

Delilah tried not to react. He had given her the same name from her dream. She didn't usually remember her dreams. What she did were little things, like a spider attack or flood, but they never happened. Granted, there had been a flood, but, unlike her dream, everyone had been fine. There were never as many casualties in reality as there were in her dreams.

"Well, River, how do you feel?"

River closed his eyes slowly. "Chef stuck me in that bag again. Like she thought she'd survive."

That wasn't an answer, but Delilah didn't follow her natural urge to pursue it. "Chef? Was that the giant?"

"It's called a bergen. You don't have them here?"

Delilah frowned and shook her head. "It sounds familiar, though. Did they, did they eat trolls? Like, a long time ago?"

"Up until a few years ago," River replied, looking over at her.

Delilah's eyes widened. "You really are from the rainbow trolls," she realized. "It wasn't just a coincidence that you had color."

River shifted, trying to sit up, and grunted in pain. Delilah quickly reached out to help him up, kicking over one of the petal cushions for him to lean on. Once he was upright, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"We're river trolls, but the rainbow trolls were our ancestors. We have it recorded that our ancestors left the rainbow trolls when the bergens were first seen approaching. We had a bit more of a survival instinct, I suppose. We didn't want to die."

River laughed, but it was more like a groan. "I had a similar realization recently," he murmured.

Delilah studied him, recognizing the pain in his eyes. "If you think you can win, fight. If you do not think you can win, only fight if it is to protect one that you love. But never, ever enter a battle thinking of failure," she recited. River looked at her with a surprised, confused expression and she elaborated, "My dad always says that. We are fighters, but there are some beasts we can't beat."

"You don't have bergens here...what do you have?"

Delilah rocked back, thinking. "Some of the typical ones. Vine caterpillars, spiders, the blinkers-those are beasts that make themselves look like plants-are a real problem. The worst ones are the pyrluxes." She hugged her arms to her body. "They're like giant flaming cats. They don't eat us, but they attack. Play. They forced us to relocate when I was small. They're the reason so few of us have color. We can't fight them with our hair, and there are very few weapons that can harm them."

River's eyes widened. "That sounds awful. Why don't you move?"

"That's the question my father never answers," Delilah sighed. "He wants us to stay by the river, where the pyrluxes don't go. They don't touch the water. I think we should look for our kin, the other trolls, especially if they aren't being eaten by the bergens anymore. They might be, um, different, from us, but there's strength in numbers."

River looked away. "I doubt I could help you with that. They hate me."

Delilah blinked. "That's okay," she assured him. "Think you'd feel up for some walking? I'm going to have everyone do an evacuation drill during training today, and I could show you around the area. You're welcome to stay or go. I can get you some weapons."

"Weapons?" River repeated, startled.

"You don't use any?" Delilah looked equally startled.

"We have our hair." River paused, then his eyes widened and he lifted a hand to touch his hair. "It won't move," he whispered.

Delilah grimaced. "We were afraid of that. Dew told me you tried to do something. It looks pretty bad." Her gaze flicked toward River's back, where she had felt damaged skin and scar tissue that Conifer had provoked into forming. "But you'll be okay. Even if your hair doesn't recover, we can teach you how to use different weapons, and fight barehanded." Delilah unclipped the knife from her belt. "Here. This is pretty straight forward. You stab or slice with it. There isn't really a right or wrong way to use it."

River slowly took the knife, awkwardly attaching it to his pants. Ash snorted again and they looked at him, then exchanged a look with each other and laughed. Delilah was pleased by this relationship. He didn't seem to hate her as he had in her dream.

Someone knocked and River tensed, shifting to sit up straighter.

"Come in," Delilah called, smiling reassuringly.

"I thought I'd find you here, princess." Switch stepped in. He looked at Ash and Conifer and smiled, shaking his head. "I have all the patrols arranged. I thought you'd want some food before everything starts."

"Good thinking." Delilah smiled at him, catching the pack he tossed her way. She opened it and pulled out a piece of dried meat.

Once he knew she was eating, Switch focused his green gaze on River. "Hey, I'm Switch. Good to see you not unconscious." He moved closer and bowed his head in greeting. "Want some food?" He offered him a pack as well.

"Thanks." River took the pack and opened it, pulling out the meat and staring at it with a curious expression. He bit into it and seemed to find it good, because he quickly polished it off, as well as two more pieces before he moved on to the dried fruits. "I'm, River." River glanced at Ash, Conifer, and Delilah, then at Switch again. "So, I guess you must be pretty optimistic?"

Switch smiled. "That's right. But that isn't why I'm the only one here with color. This," he motioned to himself, "would be because of her." He pointed at Delilah.

River looked at Delilah, blinking a slow, casual blink as he waited. She sighed and shook her head at her partner.

"We're planning on marrying," she explained.

River nodded slowly, looking between them. Switch walked over to Conifer, looked at Ash, then said, "You two see nothing." Without hesitating, he pushed Conifer off his ledge and straight into Ash's lap. He hastily sprang over to sit next to Delilah as the two gray trolls yelped and scrambled awake, freezing when they realized their position. River watched with amusement as Delilah smiled softly, Switch enjoyed himself way too much, and the two others strained for something to say to each other.

Ash finally, awkwardly, helped Conifer up and stood there, staring at their joined hands, before he let go and promptly ran out. Conifer looked after him, letting out a dreamy sigh.

"Even for rainbow trolls, that's sappy," River commented at last. Conifer jumped violently, staring at them. Switch handed him a pack of food.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Conifer whined.

"It was bad," Delilah confirmed.

"Princess! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were here! Oh, training is today!" Conifer looked around, then started grabbing things from his shelves, a piece of fruit pinched between his teeth.

"As a medic, Conifer trains with the rarer materials on his back so he knows he could carry them safely if he ever had to fight," Delilah explained to River. She finished her meal and stood. "Think you feel up to at least watching the training and taking part in the drill?" She grabbed a cane from the floor and offered it to River.

He slowly took it, leaning heavily on it to push himself up. He stood slightly unsteadily, freezing when Conifer circled him and placed a leaf hat on his head. "What's that?"

"Hopefully, it will stimulate the regrowth of your hair. Don't worry. I'll do my very best to heal you completely." Conifer smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry about hurrying," Delilah said. "I'm going to start everyone up." She slipped out, and Switch followed her after shooting a friendly smile toward River.

Chapter Text

Creek limped out of the pod, aware of Conifer hovering behind him. He looked around, taking in the gray trolls and the spark of red that was Delilah's mate. Princess Delilah. Of course there had to be another princess. He was hopeless. The red troll, Switch, was talking to another troll. They shared a nod, then the other troll darted off into the dark forest around them. A few more followed that one immediately.

"Ah, you're awake!"

Creek jumped and turned quickly, staring at the gray troll that had spoken. He was bigger than the others and, as Creek had been puzzled by before, had flat hair. 

"I am King Spark. I trust that-"

"Dad, don't scare River," Delilah said, gently poking the troll with a staff as she stopped in front of them.

"I wasn't going to scare him, just experiment a little. Do you know how long it's been since I could do that?"

"Yes, you did that to me!" Switch called from across the camp.

"That was because you were dating my daughter!"

Delilah sighed, shaking her head. "You feeling better or worse, moving around?"

Creek considered it for a moment. "Better," he said at last. He still felt stiff, but the motion helped.

She smiled warmly. "I'm glad. Would you like to try out a weapon?"

Before Creek could answer, he heard a loud, "Oh!" from the other side of the village. He watched as Switch bolted up to them, grabbed Delilah, and bolted away. King Spark watched with a knowing smile on his face.

"He's finally remembered to give it to her," he chuckled.

Conifer made a pleased sound. "About time. Now they'll match." Creek must have shown his curiosity, because Conifer said, "Switch found materials to make swords for them both, out of metal."

"Ah..." Creek watched where the two of them had vanished. "The princess gets color when he touches her," he commented after they still hadn't emerged.

"Of course. He makes her happy."

"But it doesn't last."

"Good things so rarely do." Creek looked at Conifer and the gray troll sighed. "Her majesty carries the world on her shoulders. She and Switch are the only living warriors who have killed a pyrlux. She will be our leader. Would you be able to stay in color if you had to lead a clan that could die at any moment, River?"

Creek looked away. "I guess not," he said at last, glancing down at his gray feet. "She mentioned that to me. The pyre-lust."

"Pyrlux," Conifer corrected smoothly. "They have two weaknesses. Water is the one we utilize." He pointed in the direction of the river. "But we can't stay by the river because it floods. The second one is a spot right here." He raised a hand to press a finger to a spot just below his nose. "As far as we can tell, you stab there and you get a straight shot to the brain. But..."

"It's too close to the mouth," King Spark said, shaking his head. "Even if we can get close enough to hit one there, its teeth are longer than us!"

"And they travel in packs," Conifer finished.

"And the princess and her love killed one?" Creek asked, eyes wide.

King Spark blinked rapidly at the word love and Conifer tried not to laugh. "They did," the doctor confirmed. "During a routine patrol with three others, five including those two. It was no one's fault," Conifer looked at King Spark, their expressions revealing it was an argument they had often, "but the patrol agitated a lone, hunting pyrlux."

"Princess Delilah drew her sword, even though she was brand new to fighting!"

Creek jerked, realizing that they were suddenly swarmed by children. They were all gray.

Another child spoke up, eyes wide. "The pyrlux attacked, and in an instant it had evil-ice-rated-"

"It's eviscerated!" one broke in.

"The leader of the patrol and slashed its claws across Seed's back!" The child went on without recognizing the interruption. "Princess Delilah knew that they couldn't run home without leading it here-"

"So she ordered Juniper and Switch to take Seed and run!" There was a brief clamor as children fought to tell the next part.

"This is the story they know?" Spark muttered. "I tell them about rainbows, and this is what they remember."

"They've never seen rainbows," Conifer pointed out.

"Princess Delilah stabbed the pyrlux in the foot!"

"And then she ran!"

"But it chased her!"

Every time someone new would speak, they would muffle the other one by either covering their mouth or tackling them. There was a growing pile of silenced children in front of Creek.

"Switch knew that she had ordered-"

"Him to take Seed back to safety, but he was in," here all of the children chorused, "LOVE with the princess!"

"I didn't even know her well enough to think of her as anything other than the princess," Switch said indignantly, striding up with a silver sword strapped to his hip. Delilah walked next to him with an amused expression, a matching weapon on her side.

"Then why'd you do it?" someone in the pile asked.

"Well..." Switch scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, startlingly red where he stood. "Okay, yes, maybe I was in love with her already, but that isn't relevant to the story."

Delilah covered her mouth with one hand, but it didn't muffle her laugh.

"Princess, tell the next part!" The pile tumbled into a row and Creek found that he was being used as a chair.

"But you were all doing so well," Delilah said, eyes surprised.

"You tell it the best!"

Delilah looked at Switch, who shrugged. She let out a dramatic sigh and stepped back. "As you know, I stabbed it in the foot and ran. It wasn't very long before it trapped me, though, because I was barely experienced with the forest and ran straight to the cliff." She crouched low. "It prowled toward me, ready to attack, fire across its whole body, and I did something none of you should ever do."

"We won't do it!"

The princess sprang upright and lunged forward, driving one fist outward. "I stabbed it in the eye when it turned its head."

"I arrived just in time to see her pull that stunt," Switch began, shaking his head. "I managed to push her out of the way right before it recovered enough to snap at her." He bared his teeth fiercely.

"He distracted the pyrlux and I did another thing you should never do...I climbed up onto its back."

"And that's how you got the scars on your hands and feet!" the child sitting on Creek's left foot said.

"You're right, it is." Delilah lifted her hands to show the burn scars. Creek blinked, realizing that they must have been why her hands felt rough when she was helping him sit up. "Pyrluxes stay on fire until they die."

"Were you scared?"

Delilah lowered her hands. "Terrified," she said with a nod. "I didn't know if I could win, but I wasn't planning on losing without a fight." She placed a hand on the hilt of her new sword. "While Switch kept moving around its feet, I climbed up to its neck and stabbed as far as my knife could go." She glanced at Creek, who blinked and looked sharply at the knife she had given him. When he looked back at her, she smiled and nodded. "It didn't like that, obviously."

"I wasn't sure what her plan was, so you can imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw her climbing up that beast's head with only a little knife in her hand," Switch sighed.

"Where'd your sword go?" King Spark asked. "I didn't realize you didn't have it."

Delilah looked away, clearly embarrassed. "I, ah, may have gotten it stuck in the pyrlux's foot."

The children roared with laughter and King Spark once again had the expression from when Creek had used the word love.

"I climbed all the way to the pyrlux's nose, staying on the side of the eye I had stabbed. I didn't know if it was blinded completely, but I thought it would be safer than staying by its good eye," Delilah continued. "I barely had anything to hold on to, and my hands were burning horribly, so I just grabbed my knife again and stabbed as hard as I could into its weak spot." She mimed driving an invisible knife into something.

"The flames went out almost immediately and it almost crushed me. Luckily, when pyrluxes die, they turn to ash," Switch finished.

"Can we see the knife?" one of the children asked.

Delilah looked at Creek again. "I'm loaning it to River at the moment."

Switch looked sharply at Creek, eyes startled. Creek wasn't sure how to take the look as he drew out the knife and showed it to the kids. He kept his gaze down as Switch pulled Delilah back slightly. Creek's ears twitched, picking up the conversation easily.

"Okay, I know I told you to be nice to him, but I didn't mean giving away your knife. That knife."

"I'm not giving it away, I'm loaning it. He needs a weapon."

"So you give him the knife used for you first kill?" Switch asked incredulously. "I know it freaked you out, and I'll admit that it was weird that his name is actually River, but you shouldn't drop everything for him."

"Switch, it was just a dream," Delilah said lightly. "I mean, we live by a river. It's just a coincidence. You don't actually think that pyrluxes are going to attack, do you?" Her tone told Creek that she was teasing, asking rhetorically.

"Okay, no, I don't, but that doesn't change that you gave him your first kill weapon. That's like giving away a piece of your soul!"

"I'm going to get it back once he knows how to use a weapon. It's just a loan. I really doubt he'd want to keep an old knife."

Switch sighed and Creek lifted his head to look at them. "If he does run off with it, I'm going to hunt him," Switch grumbled.

"Oh, very scary." Delilah smiled and gently tapped her mate's nose. "I'd hunt with you." She turned and looked at Creek. He stiffened, very aware that he had been listening, and she knew he'd been listening. "Make sure you give that back, okay?" she said with a smile, pointing at the knife.

"Of course," he responded, returning it to his hip.

Delilah smiled, turning away from him. She seemed to like what she saw, because she let out three sharp whistles and called out, "Line up!"

Creek blinked and Switch was gone. Gray trolls were in rows before Delilah, Switch's red not visible. The children had formed a misshapen square by the rows.

"River, do you think you could carry this?" Delilah asked, offering one of the food packs to him.

Creek took it after a moment, wondering again why he told a clan of unknown trolls a fake name. Terrible idea on his part. He had to keep reminding himself of the name. He started chanting, You are River, in his head. His hug bracelet pinged and Delilah jumped, looking sharply at him.

"What was that?"

"This," he replied, hooking the pack onto his back. It was a little sore, but whatever Conifer had done worked wonders. "It goes off every hour for hug time."

"What?" Delilah shifted back like she was worried he'd suddenly hug her.

"I should get rid of it," Creek said, more to himself than her.

Delilah tipped her head to the side. "Okay." She turned back to the rows, which straightened as soon as she was looking. "Alright! In an evacuation, what do we get?" she asked, her voice calm and clear.

An excited murmur ran through the kids, one excitedly saying, "We're going to the river!"

A gray troll in the second row raised a hand. "Only the necessities. The food we know we can carry, weapons...one personal item if there's time."

Creek watched a few trolls grimace and shift, touching strange pieces of jewelry he hadn't noticed. Creek looked closer and realized that a few of them were lockets, others little charms. One, on an older troll, looked like a child's attempt to carve wood into...something. He wasn't sure what. They kept the smaller personal items on them. Smart. He looked at Delilah, wondering if she had anything. Her ears were pierced with little gray earrings in the shape of a leaf, but otherwise she looked the same as the rest.

"How fast can you get those items?" Delilah asked.

A troll raised his hand, but Delilah laughed. The group seemed to realize what she meant and bolted, scattering apart. Some came back faster, carrying only food packs and an extra weapon or two. Creek jumped when there were a few screams and looked around to see a few trolls, Switch included, had swung from the trees to 'attack' the ones running toward their homes. The one Switch had scared didn't seem to be doing well and Switch was awkwardly patting his back, ushering him back toward the group.

Once everyone was in the rows, Switch next to Delilah this time, Delilah smiled. "Good time, for most of you. Remember, you can't always get everything out." Her voice softened. "And not everyone will always get out." Switch briefly touched her hand and purple bloomed for a second before it faded again. "Go back and get what you wanted to. I won't have them spook you."

The trolls that had been startled sheepishly made their way back to their homes. Creek looked around at the others, noticing that none of them had what he expected. The children had bowls and cups, or small knives, rather than something innocent like dolls. Every one of them had a pack of food, some more than one. "I can carry more," he told Delilah, adjusting the food pack to show her what he meant.

She looked at him, surprised, then nodded and walked away. She returned with a stack of larger packs. Switch took most of it and held it while she handed the rest to Creek, then she took the stack back from Switch and put it all onto her back.

"You good, River?" she checked.

"I can carry it," he confirmed, feeling slightly better about himself with the two extra packs, even if Delilah had five. He glanced at Switch, who had none.

"A few stay at the camp during drills, just in case," Switch explained without being asked. "I'm going to be one of them this time."

Delilah focused back on the rows, her gaze sweeping over them. "Myrtle," she sighed.

A troll stiffened. She held a strange looking rocking chair in both arms. "It was my gran's!" Myrtle protested.

"Myrtle, can you run with it?" Delilah asked patiently.

The troll fidgeted, then quietly set it down and looked away.

"Who can tell me where the river is?" Delilah asked while Switch left to carry the chair back to Myrtle's home.

The children all pointed at Creek, then burst out giggling. The older trolls shared a look somewhere between amusement and irritation and pointed in the correct direction. Creek took a few steps that way and the children's fingers followed.

"Very good," Delilah said with an amused smile. "Move."

The trolls didn't move with the same lightness as Delilah and Switch, keeping the children to the center. King Spark took the lead. Delilah waited, staying back.

"I'll walk with you," she said to Creek. "No hurry."

Creek nodded. "Thank you."

Delilah turned as Switch did what Creek had decided was a magical appearing trick and appeared behind her. "Stay safe," he said, eyes full of adoration.

Creek shuffled away, feeling like he was intruding. He found that the more he moved, the better he felt. A distant part of his mind pointed out that he would probably miraculously heal if he started dancing and Creek grimaced. He wasn't in the mood for dancing. Ever again.

"You too," Delilah replied. "Ready?" She turned to Creek.

"Ready," he confirmed.

Delilah nodded and motioned for him to take the lead. Creek faltered, slightly worried about going too slow, but when he started walking Delilah walked smoothly along with him. As they left the village, Delilah's ears, which he had noticed were slightly narrower than his own, flicked straight upward and swiveled in both directions. Her posture remained relaxed, but it was interesting to watch as she showed off the range of motion with her ears.

"All safe?" he asked, watching both ears flick toward him when he spoke.

"For the moment." Delilah smiled faintly. "Mind if we take a detour?"

"Not at all."

She turned, leading him through the dark trees. He noticed that she was speeding up, but had no trouble following. And then he tripped over a giant yellow clump.

Delilah spun around when he hit the ground, darting back to help him up. "You okay, River?"

"Fine." He brushed off his knees. "What's that?" He pointed back at the clump.

"That? It's a-" Delilah stopped. She looked around. "The vine caterpillar. It's head." She walked around it slowly. "Just...its head. Stay here." Without waiting, she darted away. Creek didn't stay put. He stayed fairly close, which he was rather proud of.

"You don't stay very well," Delilah said, stopping quickly.

Creek didn't reply, staring at the scattered yellow clumps. He slowly lifted his gaze to a tree, where there was a perfect charred paw print. "What's that?"

Delilah looked up and her eyes widened. "Should have checked it sooner. Should have checked it sooner!" She whipped around and darted toward the river. Creek hastily followed her to where everyone had gathered.

"Good job!" she called, her voice just a pitch higher than usual. "Puff, Lichen, why don't you start a lesson on stone path markers?"

The two trolls she'd named stepped forward, looking at her with a puzzled expression. She smiled quickly, setting down the packs. Creek did the same, watching her.

"I'm going to head back and check on Switch." Delilah left without pausing.

Creek stared after her for a moment. No one was looking at him, making it easy to slip after her. Creek couldn't see her in the grayness of the forest, but he could see a faint glow that he was pretty sure was the village. He was focusing on the glow, not sure why he wanted to follow her toward something that seemed unsafe, so when he ran into Delilah it caught them both by surprise.

He quickly returned to his feet and looked at her, then at the glow. Massive cats were pouring into the village, their bodies glowing with fire. Delilah was staring at him.

"Why did you follow me?" she whispered.

"Are those pyrluxes?" he asked, avoiding the question.

The wide eyed look she gave him was all the answer he needed. She drew in a shaking breath, looking forward again. "Switch isn't out."

"How do you know?"

"I saw him." Creek looked at her, remaining silent, and she whispered, "I'd die if I went in there. But he's all alone."

"What are you going to do?"

Delilah looked at him. "Give my knife to my father," she said, and then she lunged forward. Creek darted after her, stopping at the border of the village. He saw her land on one of the pyrluxes and swiftly drive her metal sword into its back. The blade didn't go far, but it kept her feet off the flames. Her hair lengthened and pushed off the ground, freeing her blade, and she flipped to where Switch was surrounded by the monsters. 

"You shouldn't have come back," Switch said, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Creek suddenly realized that the pyrluxes were silent. He hunched back into the shadows of the tree, unnerved by the realization. So many of them, and not a sound.

"Like I'd leave you. We're a team."

"You make it very hard to not love you."

"Says the singing river troll."

Creek blinked, watching them banter as their twin swords kept the pyrluxes back. Switch was falling behind though. Creek looked closer and his eyes widened when he saw the gash in Switch's shirt. It wasn't bleeding much, but he was obviously hiding it from Delilah. Switch jerked suddenly, a pyrlux paw sweeping across his chest with enough force to knock him to the ground, and Delilah let out a cry.

The pyrlux that had hit him sat back, letting out a growling sound for the first time, and Delilah lifted her furious gaze to it. Creek watched, stunned, as her soft, feathery hair, that hung loosely around her shoulders in black waves, suddenly grew spikes and shot straight outward in every direction as she let out a cry of despair. The spikes sank into the pyrlux's weak points with terrifying precision; some of the spikes changed direction when the pyrlux target moved.

The pyrlux's crumbled as one, dissolving into ash, and Delilah dropped to her knees, gray skin pale and breathing hard. Her sword dropped to the ground as she scrambled to Switch, lifting him slightly in her arms.

"You're okay," she whispered, pressing her hands to the gashes that were carved into his stomach. "You'll be fine."

"Forgot how colorful this is," Switch whispered back, but Creek wasn't sure if it was a whisper or if his voice was weak.

"You'll be fine. Just fine."

"How'd you do that, anyway? Pretty impressive, Dee."

A little sob hiccuped out of Delilah. "It won't stop bleeding."

"Yeah...I don't think it's gonna."

"Don't say that," she sobbed. "Don't say that."

Switch's eyes closed, then opened again. "You shouldn't cry. I mean, one life, just little old me, that's not a bad trade."

"It was just a stupid dream!"

"Just like all the others, about the spider nest, and the hornets attack, and..." Switch stopped talking, lifting one hand to touch her face. "I don't think they were ever just dreams."

Delilah let out another sob, her hands rainbowed with his blood. "Then I don't want this one. I want to wake up."

Switch smiled faintly. "I wish I could see your color," he murmured, drawing his fingers down her face and watching the lines of purple on her cheek, like a scar across the grayness. "It's so beautiful in this small amount. Must be even more amazing when it stays." He traced the lines again, watching as they turned darker, almost to the color he remembered her having before their relocation.

He closed his eyes, trying to think of what he had been singing when she had gained color for just a moment. It had been ages ago. Finding the song, he opened his eyes and continued to trace the lines.

"It's been a long day, without you my friend."

Delilah let out a small, sobbing laugh, recognizing the song and what he was trying to do. They didn't know the actual tune because it had just been written, but that didn't stop him from trying.

"And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

We've come a long way, from where we began."

His fingers slipped from her face and Delilah let out a little cry again, realizing his eyes were closing with more finality, his voice fading into silence.

Delilah searched her mind for a moment, then murmured, "Oh, I'll tell you all about it when I see you again."

Chapter Text

King Spark watched the trolls with an amused smile as they sparred, some of them not even seriously fighting. Of course, he would never tell Lily that tickling wasn't fighting. He had no desire to be tickled. He hadn't heard the high cry again and attributed it to a bird, keeping an eye on the sky. A branch cracked behind him. He whipped around, wielding the black staff that had been given to him when his father died. It had seen its fair share of battles, and its sharper end had been covered by a bundle of leaves to best serve him as a cane.

The king lowered the cane, blinking with surprise at River. The rainbow troll had been sticking close to Delilah and he liked to think that they were friends, something his daughter was in dire need of. River was breathing hard, something black smeared on his gray face and hands.

"She, ah," the troll looked away, over at the others, and lowered his voice. "She won't leave. And I don't know if more of them are going to come." He tugged Delilah's First Kill knife off of his hip. "She told me to give this to you before she went to fight?"

King Spark stared at the knife, the gears turning horribly slowly in his head. They finally moved enough to light the bulb. Without a word, he was running toward the village. The black on River's hands: ash. More of them coming: pyrluxes. Giving him the knife: Delilah didn't expect to live. The cry he had earlier was her voice. How had he not recognized the voice of his daughter?

River was behind him, following with more ease than he would have expected. He was still rather clumsy, but not a total lost cause.

King Spark shook his head, angry that such a thought would intrude on the fact that his daughter, his Delilah, was in danger. The king stopped short as he broke through the branch wall into the village. Ash surrounded his daughter, too much to have just been one pyrlux. A 'hunting' party usually had eight to twelve of the beasts, but there was too much ash for it to have just been mates. Delilah was covered in rainbow blood.

"You shouldn't do that," River said, stopping King Spark when he started to move toward her. The king glared at him and moved forward. When he came close, Delilah's body stiffened and she raised the sword that matched Switch's. On closer look, King Spark realized that it had a blue tie on the hilt. It was Switch's.

"I won't let you take him," Delilah whispered. "He isn't dead. He's just," her voice broke, "he's just resting."

King Spark's whole body slumped as he saw the body in her arms. Switch was smiling faintly, his crimson skin pale. His eyes were closed, a trace of blood on his face showing that Delilah had closed them, despite what she had just said. Spark made himself look away from the sword. "What happened to the pyrluxes?"

"I killed them," she answered, her voice calm and detached.

Spark blinked. "You? Alone?"

She made a small sound of confirmation. "My hair turned into spikes."

"Again?"

"It wasn't on purpose this time, either."

The king let out a sigh. "It's okay," he murmured. "But, Delilah, we have to leave." The sword, which had been resting back on the ground, snapped up to him. Her hand was unshaking.

"I'm not leaving him."

"Then bring him," River said behind Spark, a safe distance away from the sword. "I mean, a little further down the river, so it isn't scaring everyone."

Delilah didn't move for a moment, then she let out a breath and stood, lifting Switch. Without waiting, she darted away.

"She actually listened this time," River said, startled.

"She does seem to like you," Spark said absently. He picked up Delilah's sword, the one she had left behind. The king gazed sadly at the weapon. He closed his eyes, taking a breath, then spun to River. The gray troll was surprisingly close and they both jumped back. Once Spark had recovered, he held out the sword. "It's part of a set," he said.

"Yeah, hers and Switch's. She has his, right?" River took another step back, eyeing the blade.

"Yes. And I am giving you this."

"What."

King Spark let out a sigh. "She has entrusted you with her first kill knife. I could not explain to you how much that means in words alone."

River's face scrunched for a moment and he warily asked, "You're not about to start singing, are you?"

"River trolls do not sing." King Spark cleared his throat. "Take this. If she likes you, as I think she does, she will not hurt you if you try to join her."

"Join...for what?"

Spark sighed heavily, almost exaggerating it to show exactly how annoyed he was getting. "To find your clan."

River reverted back to an stiff, "What."

"Switch was keeping her here. He was never much of a traveler. But Delilah...she would move mountains for her people." Spark massaged his forehead. "And with Switch dead, she will leave. She has spoken to me before about going in search of the rainbow trolls. Now, I believe she will. And you will guide her."

"Uh, haha, no, no, that is a bad idea." River took another step back. "They won't be happy to see me. I don't even know where they are!"

"Everyone knows the way home." Spark pushed the hilt of the sword at River.

"Yeah, home is not with the rainbow trolls." River didn't take the weapon. "I almost got them all eaten."

"We've all done that," Spark said dismissively.

"Somehow, I doubt it."

Spark looked flatly at him. "Don't make me summon Switch's ghost."

"You can't do that."

"You don't know what river trolls can and can't do."

"I know you can't do that."

"Oh, yeah?" Spark took a deep breath. "Eskuto! Mar-" River snatched the sword.

"Fine. I'll go find her. But I'm not making any promises. If she decides to go off and I go with her and we both die, don't blame me. I do not want to die, and I won't hesitate to abandon her."

"I don't expect you to," Spark said smoothly, glad that his bluff and screamed gibberish had an effect on the rainbow troll.

River groaned, then ran off in pursuit of the princess.

 "I just ran up the entire river looking for you, and you're telling me he was bluffing."

Delilah turned her head toward him, dripping wet where she stood on the shore. "If something like that was possible, don't you think I would have done it?" She twisted her hair in her hands, wringing the water out of it. By the time River had found her, she was clean of all the blood and Switch was gone. River didn't want to ask where he was.

He did anyway.

The look she gave him, eye glinting coldly from under her hair, made him wish Chef had actually eaten him. But after a long moment of glaring, she looked away and said, "We had talked about where we would go if our bodies were recovered. He wanted to go down the river."

"Why did you keep saying that he wasn't dead if-"

The glare intensified and River wondered why he was still talking. "I sent him down the river. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sounds good, princess."

Delilah pushed her hair back out of her face and smoothed it down, looking toward him again. "What?"

River closed his mouth quickly, not realizing that his jaw had dropped. He kept staring, though, eyes on the three purple lines, like scars, across her gray skin. "Uh..." He pointed at his face.

Delilah frowned and moved away from the river and to a small puddle. She looked at her reflection. Delilah made a small sound, touching her face. "I guess some of my color stuck around for Switch after all," she finally said.

River blinked, startled by the lack of reaction. It occurred to him that she had been acting like a normal, albeit subdued, rainbow troll. She had certainly smiled more than Branch ever did. Now, though, she was silent. Her eyes were dull, ears low, shoulders flat; everything about her was neutral. She glanced mildly at him, touching her cheek, then at the sword he held.

She stepped toward him, holding out one hand. "Please return it. They are a set, and they must stay together. I shouldn't have left it behind."

River shifted his grip on the weapon. "It shouldn't need to be returned if you're coming back to the others with me," he said slowly, feeling very much like he was going to be stabbed for that statement.

"You're right." She didn't lower her hand.

"Or...I guess, that it wouldn't need to be returned, if your dad was right and I came with you." You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? It's the princess. Why is it always about the princess? River silently scolded himself. You need to stop getting attached to princesses. Or at least not betray this one.

"Absolutely not," Delilah said firmly. "Your hair is quite possibly useless and you know nothing about fighting."

"So teach me." He hefted the sword. "It can't be that hard."

She blinked slowly at him, the three purple markings somehow adding intensity to the unspoken, You're stupid. River couldn't agree with that sentiment more. But, "Fine."

"What," he managed, surprised.

"Okay. But I'm teaching you while we're moving. If you get killed, it isn't my fault."

"I'd like to not get killed."

"How fast can you run?"

"Uh."

"Hopefully faster than you can think of answers." She turned her back on him and started walking.

River blinked and hurried after her. "Are you going to insult me the whole time?"

Delilah shrugged. "Do you know where your people are?"

"They aren't my people; they probably hate me. Shouldn't we go get food?"

"Why do they hate you?" The princess glanced back at him. The purple had yet to stop startling him. It was incredibly vibrant against the gray.

River was silent as he considered answering, finally muttering, "I betrayed them to save myself."

She didn't look at him, eyes flicking over the dark forest. Without warning, she drew Switch's sword, spun, and flung it at him. River yelped and ducked, but it went right by him and sank through a spider, into a tree. "First lesson. When you attack, use your whole body." She walked over and drew the blade out. She let out four sharp whistles and moved more quickly away. "Point yourself in the direction you want to hit. Keep your body sideways to reduce what can be hit by your enemy."

River stared at the dead spider, then realized that she was getting away and rushed after her. "Whole body, sideways, point at the hit," he repeated.

"Good." Delilah pushed off the ground and landed on a tree branch in a crouch. She looked back to wait for him to join her. "Can you whistle?"

River frowned slightly, then pursed his lips. A warbling whistle sounded. "Yes," he said proudly.

"Good. Keep practicing. Two means battle. Three means come. Four means come here for food. Five means disperse. One or many more than five is drawing attention to yourself and is usually a bad idea."

River nodded at each number.

She looked away, then at him again. "Keep trying to use your hair. When we stop, I'll find something for you to keep it covered. I know how to make hoods, at least."

"Thanks." He didn't touch the leaf hat still perched on his head.

Delilah closed her eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath. "Okay. Let's go."

Chapter Text

Dalilah crouched next to River, watching him sleep with a frown. She looked at the sky, just beginning to turn light, then at him again. Realistically, she knew that he was still technically injured and needed rest. If she left him behind, though, he would be fresh meat. She'd only stopped last night because he'd started slowing down. He was, on the other hand, making a valiant effort to keep up.

Dalilah bared her teeth in frustration and straightened, pacing in a circle in the small clearing. Extinguishing the fire would be wise if she was going to leave, but then River would be without the protection of the flames. She cast a glance out toward the trees, where she had been pretending not to notice two different followers. One of them was following the first one, and she had a good guess as to who they both were.

"I am not patient enough for this," she growled. Delilah swiveled to face the trees, both hands on her hips as she glared at the form that had hastily tried to hide. "It should have just been me, but no. He just had to come along." She gestured at River. "And then, you, who, I swear, you have got to be the worst hunter in the clan, really it's no wonder you're a doctor, and you had better have left someone a reference sheet on how to take care of the others." She pointed at the poorly hidden troll. "And of course, because that wasn't bad enough, you just had to follow him!" She motioned at the other troll, who she could not see but still knew was there due to the scuffs from where he'd slept on the tree branch.

Neither troll moved, and Delilah's glare hardened. "Don't make me come get you."

Conifer fell out of the tree and landed in a heap at the edge of the clearing, the bag he was wearing on top of his head. He sat up quickly, the bag falling, gray eyes wide and one hand already pointing at River. "Someone had to make sure he didn't die! He's still hurt! You know I respect you, princess, but you're terrible at keeping anything alive."

Delilah frowned at him. "So you followed us."

"But I did leave a note," he offered.

"Which is why he followed you," she sighed, turning her gaze in Ash's direction.

Conifer peered over his shoulder. "Who?"

"Ash." Delilah looked back at Conifer. "Hold on, you're the worst tracker I've ever known. How did you follow us?"

"I'm not the worst," Conifer said with a pout.

She looked flatly at him.

"Okay, so I'm pretty bad, but I've got a good nose!"

Delilah's lips parted slightly, hands splayed outward, then to the side. "Okay?"

Conifer crossed his arms. "I know the smell of my own medicine, thank you very much."

It took her a moment, but the lightbulb finally flickered on. "You followed River's scent."

"Yes."

A distant part of her mind suggested that an ability like that would be very useful to the clan, but then she remembered that Ash still thought she was bluffing, or at least was too scared to come out, and looked out in his direction. "Ash, not being able to see you will not stop me from hunting you down," she said evenly.

Conifer squinted into the trees with a frown, and jumped when Ash's voice called, "Actually, you don't see me, so I'm not here."

River drowsily sat up, watching as Conifer stepped quickly backward and Delilah marched into the forest. "What're you doing here?" he asked, blinking blearily at Conifer.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Conifer turned quickly to face him. "His majesty told us that Switch was killed by pyrluxes and you and the princess left," he said more quietly. "How are you doing?"

River's wide eyes followed Ash as he bolted out of the trees and hid behind Conifer. Delilah followed more slowly, looking much less amused. "Good," he remembered to answer. "Moving around helps." He climbed stiffly to his feet.

"And your hair? Is it doing any better?" Conifer asked hopefully.

River was silent for a moment, then he grimaced. "Guess not." He stretched, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "And why is he here?" He pointed at Ash.

"Um, that one, I don't know." Conifer looked at Ash, both of them shooting guilty glances at the princess, whose arms were crossed and eyes were narrowed.

"I'm here because you're oblivious to everything," Ash moaned. "Do you know how many predators I had to kill to keep you alive?"

Conifer's eyes went comically wide. "No wonder I was traveling so easily," he breathed.

"I wasn't easy for me!" Ash howled.

Delilah shoved dirt over the fire. "How were you planning on looking after River while hiding from me?" she asked coolly.

Conifer faltered, then offered, "I was going to come out eventually."

She blinked slowly at him. "Fine." Without another word, she turned and darted away. All three trolls scrambled to follow.

"So, what happened to the princess's face?" Ash asked, dropping back toward River.

River shook his head, shrugging his shoulders weakly. "I don't know. After Switch died, it just stayed like that. She said some of her color stayed for him."

"That's a fascinating concept, but I think it's impossible," Conifer said.

River shrugged, not offering anything else as the princess vaulted off of a springy branch to land in the trees and run onward from there.