The Traveler { Trolls }

° Chapter 3 °

Kenneth shivered as he walked in the grass. His feet were wet with the dew, and his head ached. He just wanted to get to some place warm.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy. They were walking through thicker parts of the forest, and the morning fog was setting in, making the forest even darker and scarier.

He let out a cry as he heard something step behind him. He turned and peered in between two mushrooms, slowly creeping towards the sound.

"Kenneth, mate, keep up," Eli scolded.

"Wha- yes, of course. My apologies," he said shakily, nervously tapping his fingers together.

He huffed and limped over to the two rock trolls. Margarine led them up to a massive tree. On the base was heavy fern growth, as well as different grasses that grew tall around it. Moss covered almost the entire trunk of the tree, going all the way up.

Kenneth's eyes trailed up the tree, and that was where he saw the pods. It was obvious different genres of trolls lived in the pods, as many of the colors varied from bright pink to glittery golden, from dusty red to dark orange, the colors represented what tribe resided in it.

"Mines that one," Margarine said and motioned to a darker purple one. "I chose purple to throw Branch off. It was so funny seeing his reaction."

"Too bad you didn't take a picture!"

"I did!"

The two laughed and giggled, playfully slapping each other's shoulders. Kenneth gulped and glanced around. He didn't see an easy way for him to get up without using his wings.

"How do we get up?" He asked.

"Wha- oh, we just use our hair," Margarine shrugged.

"I don't know how to do that."

"Aye, you really are young, aren't you?" Eli said and hummed gently.

"I guess I can just fly up,"

He fluttered his wings and bit, getting them used to being like a normal classical troll's wings. He pushed off the ground like he normally did.. Just to fall right back down on the ground, letting out a yelp as his injured leg hit first.

"I.. I can't fly. Why can't I fly??" He asked, his voice cracking as panic set in.

"Now, now, it's not the end of the world. I'll help you up." Eli said and picked Kenneth up like he was light as a feather.

"Wait, I cant-"

Eli used his hair to swing himself up onto the first tree branch, making Kenneth grip his body tightly. Eli smiled gently at him, gently resting him on the ground.

Kenneth didn't stand up. If anything, he did the opposite. He kneeled to the ground and gripped his shirt tightly. He raised his hand to his head and slammed his fist into his forehead softly a couple of times.

"Stop- no, calm down.. stop!" He mumbled, trying his best to calm himself down.

Eli himself started to feel a bit panicked. He had also suffered from many panic attacks in his youth. But, he had gotten therapy for his problems, and so he knew how to manage it. A LOT better than Kenneth did.

Kenneth tried to calm himself by gently hitting himself in the forehead and constantly telling himself to just 'calm down and stop'. Eli knew this wasn't healthy behavior, and he tried to help him truly calm himself.

Margarine also joined, but them coaching him together, and him trying to calm himself combined with the pain just became too much. He panicked even worse, and eventually, Eli and Margarine left him to calm himself.