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Dave wasn’t new to Troll fights. From a young age he had grown up with caged trolls in the garage and a stern warning from Bro to never go near them. The first time he had gone to see a troll fight, was when he was 14. By this age Bro had realized how stupid it was to try and shelter Dave and Dirk from his secondary source of income. It was a friday in mid May, Bro had brought his prized Blueblood troll to the fight ring. Dave and Dirk sat silent behind their respective shades in the back seats of Bro’s truck while the oldest Strider loaded up the large cage in the bed of the truck. They took a half an hour drive to a large warehouse, which Bro parked in the back of. They had sat in the preparation area assigned to Bro while he unloaded the blueblood and got him checked. It was dark, and the boys could hear the sounds of snarling coming from other trolls. The station next to them held a sparking and twitching yellowblood. Dave kept his fingers to himself. When Bro returned he told the two younger Striders to go sit in the audience and that he would find them after his troll fought. Dirk found them a spot somewhere near the front. A fight was already happening when they sat down on the shitty raised plastic seats. The stands were packed with maybe a hundred people. Near the back was a betting booth run by a woman with glasses and an ery smile.The trolls had dark hardened areas of their skin in a mock armor and candy corn colored horns. It was a brownblood with tall [ like horns against a teal blood with C shaped horns. The tealblood snarled and tried to charge. With a simple toss of his head, the brownblood had the teal flung across the arena. There was a nasty crack against the rainbow stained area a walls and the crowd cheered loudly. A whistle blew and the brownblood stood down, letting a handler in green pull him out of one end of the arena while another picked up the limp teal. The next to fight was Bro’s blueblood and a olive blood with horns that curved back like upside down J’s. “And now Bro Strider’s Equius Zahhak against one of The Huntress’s Hunters!” an anouncer called out. There was a buzzer and Equius launched himself forward. The oliveblood some how dodged, scratching at his side with claws. Dirk was standing, leaning forward to see the fight better. Dave on the other hand felt upset. Why on earth was Bro doing this? They had plenty of money from his brother’s movie business. They didn’t need to do this. Equius caught the olive in the gut with his unbroken arrow shaped horn. The crowd basically screamed out its approval. Unless it wasn’t for the money. Dave almost gaged. His Strider blank face slipping for a millisecond. Maybe Bro was doing this for the thrill. Instead of needing the money, Bro was more than likely doing this for the thrill of watching two creatures fight. Dave pushed down the urge to puke when Equius back kicked the olive to the wall like a horse. Equius won. Of course he did. Bro took them home after two more fights. Dave didnt pay enough attention to actually see who was fighting. It was silent on the drive home. Well until Dirk broke the silence with a question that made Dave want to slap him. “Can you teach me?” Bro had only gave him a nod. No verbal reply was needed. When they got home, Dirk had followed Bro into the garage to care for the trolls. Dave separated himself from the two after that. There was no need to. Dirk was distracted enough by Bro and the trolls. The middle Strider never went to watch anymore fights. Now, every Friday at around 5 in the evening. Dirk and Bro would leave the house in the truck, a few cages in the back, to go to the fights. When Dave turned 18 he left home. He got a job at as a DJ at a club, spinning tracks. His home was a small apartment on the other side of town from his brothers. And over the years Dave forgot about them. Bro got famous being a movie star. Dirk moved out and got a business selling and breeding trolls. Life moved on. Everything was normal. Well as normal as they could get.Dave is tired. Tired of struggling to meet the rent. Tired of having to deal with shitfaced crowds. Tired of everything. Then one day he gets a random text feom his younger brother. “Hey Dave. You free tonight? I gotta pick up a trouble troll and need the extra help.” Dave checked his calendar. Tonight was one of those rare days when he didnt need to go into work. “Yeah dude. What time do you want me to show?”
“6 pm at the 7/11 near Westwood and Star. I’m in a grey pick up.” Dave sent a quick ok and closed his phone. It has been ages since talked to his younger brother. They never really hung out after Dirk started to pursue a career in troll fighting. Dave just hoped this didn’t go to absolute shit too fast.
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The seven eleven in question was a smaller one. In the bad part of town were sidewalks cracked and people died. Dave pulled up in his dusty Ford, his shades hiding his sensitive eyes from the light. Dirk was parked on the side of the building, a troll cage by his feet. Dave was almost shocked by how much Dirk had changed from the scrawny 16 he had left. There was a simple exchange of handshakes and greetings. “Nice to see you again Dave.” Dirk said in a Strider monotone. He wore a white tanktop and black skin tight jeans, so close yet so different from Bro’s daily attire. “So tell me about this troll.” Dave ordered, leaning on the end of the truck. “A mutant. Red blooded. Apparently he is hiding out in the back. The owners are having troubles with him attacking the garbage man and anyone who goes back there. He is very hostile.” Dirk lights a cigarette and flicks the ash to the side. The middle Strider only nods. It made sense why Dirk needed his help. “Alright. Let’s get him.” Dave pushed off from the metal and headed off towards the back. The area behind the store looked like a shit hole. A dented dumpster, wire fencing. In the back corner was a large stack of wood crates and boxes. A pair of fire red eyes peaked out from them. Dave froze, those eyes looked so much like his own it was scary. A threatening growl emitted from the wood stack. From the sounds of it the troll was on the smaller side. Easier to catch. Dirk passed Dave a stick with a loop of rope on the end. With a quick nod, Dave took it and headed closer to the troll. The growl dropped an octave and it was paired with the sound of something shifting within the stack. Dave stepped closer, face unreadable behind his shades. The troll jumped out of the pile, landing on all fours like a feral dog. It was dark grey skin with even darker plates of protective hide. The horns were short and nubby, barely visible under shaggy black hair. Dave stepped closer, testing how close he could get. The troll lashed out, swiping its claws out in warning. Its growl lifted in a snarl, making the small hairs on the back of Dave’s neck lift. Out of the corner of his eye, Dave could see Dirk sneaking up in the troll. Alright, time to distract him. Dave lowered the roped stick to a ready position. Another angered snarl and swipe of claws. Dirk twitched, giving Dave the signal as the two leaped at the troll in between them. The troll managed to lunge out of reach of Dirk’s rope, but not Dave’s. It made a strangled choking sound as the rope tightened around its neck and held it a few feet away from the Strider. Dave hung on tight as it struggled and lashed out, making angered cicada noises. With the help of Dirk, they managed to get the troll in the cage and into the back. It kept throwing its body against the metal wires, making the cage jump. Dirk tied the cage down, keeping the troll from bucking it out of the truck bed. Meanwhile, Dave went to go investigate the pile that the troll lived in. From within the pile there was a soft mewling churring noise. Dave lifted a tarp covered slab of wood out of the way to check. The troll in the cage slammed into the door harshly, causing both Striders to jump. Dirk made eye contact with Dave. What on Earth was in that pile? With a renewed hesitation, Dave lifted the wood completely off. Inside the pile were two small grubs. Baby trolls. One had bright red eyes that looked up at Dave in fascination, the other had grey eyes that only looked annoyed from the corner. The one in the corner was the one making the noises, it stopped when it spotted Dave however. “Hey Dirk. You might want to check this out.” Dave called his brother over. The youngest Strider threw a tarp over the large troll’s cage and headed over. Dirk whistled lowly once he took a look at the baby trolls. “Well no wonder this one was hostile. It was just protecting the little ones.” Dirk picked up the red eyed one and lifted it to look into its eyes. The other grub rushed over on little legs, looking up at Dave. The middle strider picked that one up. It had a candy red body, ten small pincher shaped black legs, and steal grey eyes. With a tiny growl it attempted to bite Dave’s finger with its blunt baby teeth. Dave only laughed softly. “These thing are so fucking cute dude.” The troll in the truck rattled the bars, a reminder of what they were there for. Dirk checked the pile for any other grubs and found none. Just a few crumbled shedded skins but nothing else. “Here I got a small cage in the back. Do you mind carrying them? I don’t want the other troll to try and escape.” Dirk handed the red eyed grub to Dave who took it easily. The middle Strider smiled when the grey eyed one huffed and tried to squirm into Dave’s hoodie pocket. “Yeah dude I got you. Let’s get out of here.” Dirk got him a small, rabbit sized cage for the two grubs. Getting them in was easy, and while Dave was hooking the cage up to the seatbelt system a middle aged man exited from the seven eleven to hand Dirk a wad of cash and a pat on the back. With a click the cage was secure, Dave closed the door and went over to Dirk’s truck. “So just follow you dude?” He asked, leaning on the door. Dirk clicked his seatbelt and nodded. “Yep, just follow me my dude.” Traffic wasn’t so bad. The two grubs chittering in the backseat while Dave drove, following behind Dirk. It turns out Dirk lived far from their childhood home and Bro. It was in the outskirts of town, the tall skyscrapers only seeming an inch tall. On all sides of the road were fields and a few spread out houses. Dirk pulled off onto a dirt road and lead Dave all the way down to a large farm style house. There was a large barn a few meters away, complete with a dozen little pens outside. Dave caught a glimpse of large bull shaped troll horns. Dirk jumped out of his truck and headed to the bed where the cage was. With a click, Dave parked and got out as well, leaving his door open so the troll grubs didn’t overheat. “Mind helping me get him to the barn?” Dirk asked, lifting the still covered cage. It took a lot of effort to get the holding cage all the way to the barn. The troll kept squirming and snarling. Finally they got the holding cage into an empty stall that had been redone in wood to hold trolls. A lever system even allowed Dirk to lift a small door in the back so they could go to the pens outside. With steady hands Dirk lifted the door of the holding cage to let the troll out. It leaped out with a growl, turning to snarl at both Dave and Dirk. With the troll in its new home, Dirk lead Dave back to the grubs. The grey eye one was, what looked like, pouting in the corner while the red eyes one lifted itself up on the bars to see better. Dave picked up the cage and followed Dirk inside. It was cozy, robotic parts and wires thrown haphazardly everywhere. Dave scoffed. “Nice place you got here.” The youngest Strider only punched his shoulder lightly before bringing him to a holding room for the younger trolls. In the back was a kinda play pen set up with a few trolls who had just finished their first molt and were wobbling on shaky legs. They looked like toddler trolls of all different colors. On the other wall were enclosed cages that had either heat laps or vents in them to keep the molting trolls at the correct temperature. A small number on a thermometer sticking out of each cage read the exact temperature. Then there were the grub cages. Row after row of small baby trolls chittering and churring happily. “Here we are.” Dirk announced, opening up the lid of two cages for the new trolls. There is no trouble getting the troll grubs into the cages. The grey eyed one all but jumps into the new cage, curling up in the mini nest provided. The other one climbs into Dirk’s hand and lets itself get lowered in. When the locks were secured, Dirk lead him out to the kitchen. “Hey, thanks my dude. I really appreciate your help. And with a bonus of those two grubs? Perfect day.” The youngest Strider let a sliver of excitement slip into his tone, smiling while he started up the coffee pot. “About that.” Dave started, sitting down at the table. “I was thinking of finally getting into the fighting rings.” There was a scoff from Dirk that made Dave scowl at his back. “Finally willing to enter the family biz? Nice dude. I’m guessing you wanted help choosing a troll?” Dirk adds the ground beans to the paper and closes the lid.Dave shrugs. “If your willing to help. I dont want to get a shitty troll and your the only one I know who works with them as a job.” There is a moment of silence while Dirk hunts around his kitchen for cups. “Yeah dude. I’d love to help. Wanna go check out the trolls I got? To be honest you should get a younger one, they are easier to train.” He pulls a cup out of a drawer and dumps a small pile of screws onto the counter. Dave leans back in the wood chair, shades slipping only slightly. “Alright well your the expert.” Dirk only huffs in mock annoyance. “Let’s get you a troll then.”
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“Hey! Get back here!” Jake yelped, lunging after the goldblooded troll. It gave him a light zap on the fingers and took off, sliding under his bed. The human hissed at the painful tingle from the psionics. He got down on his hands and knees and looked under the bed. The goldblood hissed like a feral cat and pressed itself farther back under the mattress. “No need to do all of that.” Jake huffed, standing. It was no use. He knew the goldblooded troll he bought wouldn’t leave from under the bed until the dead of night when Jake was sleeping.He got this troll no more than a month ago and there was still no use of training it. The thing down right refused. On his last strings of hope, Jake dialed the seller. “Dirk?” He asked into his phone, leaving the bedroom and going towards the living room. “Jake? Hey dude. How’s Sollux?” Dirk asked from the other side of the line. Sollux? So that was the troll’s name. “Um well he is alright. I just having a very hard time training the thing. He keeps hissing and refuses to even let me near him. But I feed him and everything.” He huffed with a rough sigh. There was a thoughtful hum from the other side.“Is he your only troll?” Dirk questioned, followed by the soft scritch of pencil on paper from the other line. “No? He is the only one I got.” Jake hummed, flopping down on his couch. There was a pause. “Alright so Ima send over this rustblood. She was his mate last season. They get along very well, she should be able to calm him down. No charge.” Jake smiled lightly, then paused. “His mate? I really dont think I can handle baby trolls as well.” The man on the other side of the phone chuckled, amused. “She is clean. I only breed them twice. If she was able to have grubs I wouldn’t give her to you.” Jake blinked. That seemed logical. “If it helps Sollux I’ll take her.” He agreed, glancing at his bedroom. A red and blue eyes glancing around the corner. Sollux growled and hurried back into the room. “Alright. I’ll have her delivered by tomorrow. Hope she helps dude.” Dirk said, snapping Jake out of his thoughts. The island dwelling boy sighed, “Thank you Dirk. I’ll call when she gets here.” Dirk hummed and said a quick goodbye before hanging up. Aradia was her name. She had dull teeth and long black hair with ram like horns. When Jake took the cage from the delivery guy the troll huffed and shifted around. Sollux had inched out of the room to investigate the new troll, his ears pushed back and body tense. The human shut the front door and set the cage down on the floor. Sollux stopped behind the couch looking between the cage and Jake. He hissed a warning but Jake didn’t push it. The human clicked open the cage door, pushing it open wide. Aradia didn’t exit immediately. She sat up and peered out. “Come on girl. It’s your friend.” Jake cooed. The goldblooded troll made a soft click which Aradia repeated. He shuffled forward, still cautious of Jake. Aradia crawled out of the cage and gave Sollux a curious look over. He made a happy purr click and rushed over, tackling her. Jake watched him nuzzle her neck making the happy purr click. Aradia just purred, nuzzling him back. Happy Sollux didn’t kill her, Jake closed the cage and took it to the hall closet where he kept Sollux’s cage and some old things. Jake decided it would be better if he left the two alone. He put down the spare Troll bed in the living room, next to sollux’s old one. Next off was dinner. He poured some ground meat into two bowls and set them on the floor next to the bowls of water. Surprisingly, Sollux and Aradia came straight to the kitchen. They sniffed the food then dug in. Jake smiled and finished microwaving his left overs from the other night. He took the food to the kitchen table and started to eat. A second later he felt warm breath on his lap. Jake blinked and looked down. Aradia had rested her head on his lap, looking up with big begging eyes. There was another puff of breath on his other leg. Sollux mirrored her position. “Oh no you two don’t. No begging at the table.” The human huffed. They didn’t move. He sighed, unable to resist the big eyes for long. “Fine. But just this once.” Aradia smiled wide when he took a piece of his porkchop and dropped it into her mouth, then another piece to Sollux. The trolls purred happily, making Jake smile. He gave them each a pet and let them clean off his plate when he was finished. As expected, the left overs of his salad was shoved off the plate and to the floor. “Punks.” He muttered, picking it up and dumping the leaves in the trash. The trolls clicked and raced into the living room and to the couch. Jake finished the dishes and went to sit down and watch tv before bed. Sollux and Aradia were curled together on one side of the couch, purring softly and blinking up at the human. Said human only smiled and sat down to turn on a hunting show. He was happy everything was finally calm and his Sollux was happy.
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Karkat glared up at the human looking down at him. This was a different human from the usual one, he had rounded black things in front of his eyes. The small troll huffed and hissed lightly, he had just finished his first molt a few nights ago and was still cranky and sensitive. Above him the human ignored the warning and reached down to pick him up from under his arms. Karkat hissed and kicked his legs as they lifted off the ground. “Awwww look at this little thing! He is so adorable.” The human cooed. Behind him stood the taller, more familiar human. The familiar human had pointed black things over his eyes and always smelled of treats. Without hesitation, the human holding him set the troll down inside of a cage, it looked almost identical to the one Aradia was put into only a week ago. Karkat pouted and curled up in the corner on the pillow. The humans spoke above him in hushed tones, there was the exchange of a crinkling bag and a few rectangles of paper. The familiar human gave Karkat one final wave before the cage was being lifted and brought through the building. Karkat hissed out angrily, his claws digging into the pillow for any form of stability. He crouched down and held on tightly as the cage swayed and shifted. The human put his cage down in a smaller area and there was the click of some sort of strap securing his cage down. Karkat kept his claws in the fabric of the pillow. Without any hesitation, the human slammed a door and opened a new one on the other side. The ride away from Karkat’s home was stressful. The cage kept shifting as gravity pulled him every which way. Karkat’s claws gripped the pillow tighter and the fur on his neck bristled. He did not like this at all. Then finally the death trap stopped moving and the human took his cage out. Karkat didnt trust it, his claws stayed in. When the human entered a very tall building Karkat hissed at all the people. They gave him space. Also turns out, Karkat hates the moving box. When the doors shut and his human pressed a button to start it, Karkat’s stomach dropped and he snarled loudly. He felt off balance and disoriented. But thankfully this ride was much shorter. The human left the box with Karkat hissing at it. Dave let a loose smile grace his lips at the sound of his pet hissing at the elevator, it might not have been the best choice but Dave also bet he didn’t want to be jostled up 12 flights of stairs. With one hand he undid the lock of his apartment door and kicked it open wide enough for the small cage. When he entered his small home Karkat had started to calm down. He kicked the door shut and set the cage down on the ground. Karkat growled but made no other noise. With careful hands, Dave undid the cage lock and opened it wide for his new friend. Nothing. Dave got down on his hands and knees to look into the cage. The small red troll was in the back corner, curled up and glaring at Dave with his silver grey eyes. “Gotta come out now dude.” Karkat stayed still, his eyes still glaring at the human. He wasn’t going to budge and Dave knew it. The human reached in and tugged at the pillow. Karkat growled but didn’t stop him. With another tug Dave was pulling the pillow out of the cage with Karkat firmly attached. “Dude.” He frowned when he lifted the pillow and let it hang vertically but Karkat was still attached. The troll glared at the human and released its claws burrowed in the fabric. His small frame fell to the cold tile. Karkat hissed at the cold, then at Dave. Dave chuckled and put the pillow back, he hoped Dirk didn’t mind a few claw marks in it. While he put up the cage Karkat began to explore the human’s den. The floor was colder then stone, so not a cave. But why would this large creature want to live with such cold flooring. There was a sharp noise from the mini cliff. It sounded like a bird being strangled. Karkat hissed at it. The human went over to the cliff and made the noise stop by brining a flat box to the side of his ear. Its noises sounded almost like the pointy shaded human but flatter. Karkat decided to explore while it was distracted. The hive was huge! He ran on all fours towards the metal sticks that supported a softer looking platform. It was dark and warmer underneath, the floor changing to some kind of fur. Dirt and balls of fluff were abundant down here, the human must not have long enough arms to reach back here. Karkat grinned, he was going to put his pile down here. Before the human could go looking for him and find his pile spot, Karkat rushed back out and into an empty space of fur. It was warm and soft. The troll laid out on it, belly to the floor so it was protected by the finally hardening plates on his back and shoulders. His face nuzzled into the fur and Karkat closed his eyes to rest. With nothing else to do until night, he listened in on the human. Their language seemed so frilly, way too many vowels and statements were so long. The individual sounds seemed too flat with no purrs, clicks, or trills. How was the other human supposed to know the emotions behind a statement? The troll soon dozed, rocked asleep by the looping sound of the human speaking. “Yeah bro. He’s just kinda laying on the carpet. Apparently the thing hates tile.” Dave muttered, glancing over at his pet to still see it purring. His brother chuckled on the other side of the line. “I’m not surprised. They have a mutated blood color that runs warmer than any other color I have ever seen. The cold tiles might have shocked him a bit.” He explained. Dave frowned and tapped his fingers on the island he was leaning on. “Do I have to keep the heat on cause of that? Its already pretty hot in here but it doesn’t get too cold either.” There was a moment of thought from Dirk. “He should be alright. As long as he has a warm pile he should be alright with his fur. I do suggest getting winter pile material and leaving it out for him to find. That way he doesn’t make a pile out of your clothing.” Dave grimaced at that. He really didnt want Karkat to make a nest pile out of his clothing. “Alright thx dude. I’ll keep that in mind. Gotta go. I’ll call if Karkat acts up or anything.” Dirk chuckled but said his own good bye before hanging up. Setting his phone down on the counter Dave looked over at the troll. It was gone. “Hey. Where’d you go little dude?” He asked out loud. As if to answer there was a thud and terrified squeak from Dave’s room, who’s door sat a open a crack. The human rushed over to see what had happened. Karkat was laying on the floor growling and twitching, his body wrapped up in bundles of wires. It looked liked he tried to jump up onto a box filled with Dave’s old wires to get at the bottle of apple juice on the desk. “You are such a dork. That is adorable.” Dave cooed softly, reaching down to help the troll. Despite still letting Dave un wrap him, Karkat growled and snapped at the pale fingers without actually biting him. Dave only chuckled, this was going to be fun.
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“You really think getting a troll as a therapy animal will help?” Cronus asked over the phone. On the other line his best friend chuckled. “Of course silly fish. My little Feferi here is absolutely amazing.” Roxy chirped through the phone. The greaser male ran a hand through his hair, in front of him was his laptop, screen open to a website page for a local seller of trolls. “I’ll look into it Rox.” He gave in, letting his hand drop to his lap. The girl squealed, “Of course! Call me when your ready to go pick one out!” Cronus just chuckled. “Alright Rox. Call ya later.” Roxy gave a simple bye and hung up, leaving Cronus to navigate the website on his own. “Dirk’s Bots and Trolls” Read the title of the website. Cronus made note of the useful looking bot page but went straight for the troll section. “Adoption, Foster, Health, Nutrition, Care.” Were the page sections. Cronus kept his eyes away from the adoption and foster pages for now. His mouse clicked the third tab, Health. When the screen loaded it had filled with pages of text depicting how to properly diagnose different minor illnesses and what to do with different temperature trolls. Cronus went to Nutrition next. It was almost the same lay out as the Health page but full of information on how to properly feed different colored trolls. Cronus’s eyes went to the highlighted text. “For trolls olive and lower on the hemospectrum feed them meat or meat based foods. For trolls jade to purple feed them more plant based foods however they can eat light meat foods such as chicken. Since violet and fuchsia bloods are naturally seadwelling trolls, feed them fish or saltwater plants such as seaweed.” Cronus wrote that down, now understanding why it was highlighted. The last tab, Care. Cronus glanced once again at the walls of text. Something about nests, keeping higherbloods in a cool darker place like a closet and their two molts. Finally all that was next were the adoption and foster pages. He hesitated. Adoption. “Hemo color?” The page prompted with a list from rust to fuchsia. However one of the color options interested him, others. Cronus clicked the other and was taken to a page with only one troll. A candy red blooded baby troll. They had candy red eyes and a frown looking face. With horns so small they got lost in the thick mat of hair. “Kankri Vantas. Gender: Male. Blood color: Candy red. Age: 2 sweeps. Horns: nubby and small. Other: Mutant blood. Runs hotter than any other troll color, might need thicker nest.” Read it’s description. Cronus clicked on its picture to show more. A dozen photos of this little guy as s grub, then a little baby troll scowling at the other baby trolls in its cage. There was a video attachment that Cronus opened. The little troll had its arms crossed and was chittered at the others, who all looked annoyed. “Kankri play nice.” A male voice said behind the camera. The small troll churred and turned its speech towards the camera. The video ended. Cronus pressed the adopt button quickly. He entered email and phone number and sent away the form. Not five minutes later a text pinged on his phone. “632-4533-325: Hello there Cronus. I’m Dirk Strider, here to talk about the troll you recently adopted.” Cronus was impressed by the speed. “Yes. Kankri Vantas? Is there a certain time you would want me to pick him up?” He texted back, saving the website and closing his laptop. “As soon as possible is perfect. As much as I love this little guy he keeps talking the ears off the others.” Cronus gave a small chuckle. It almost sounded like a younger version of him. “Right now? Im only twenty minutes away. However I don’t have a carrying cage for it.” The response was almost immediate. “Perfect. I have a cage here you can use. Come on down.” Cronus sat up. Really? It was that easy? Alright then, lets go get his new friend. Cronus might be regretting his decision a bit. “Cvvvvvvvvrrrrrvrvvrrrrccc kivvvvvvverrrrr.” Kankri churred from the cage on the passenger seat. He hasn’t shut up since they left Dirk’s house. Cronus tightened his grip on the wheel, it was fine. Fine. He could do this. Kankri continued his rant. “Gvrrvvrrrrrr jorrrrrrrrrrr berrrrrrrrrr.” The human groaned. “Would you shut up already?” He asked it. The troll froze. A pause for a minute. Then more angry chitters. Cronus groaned, head banging against the wheel. But slowly the troll wore its self out, the chittering trailing off as it fell asleep. Cronus glanced over at the curled up fluff ball. Ok so this wasn’t so bad. He could do this.
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Jane tugged the leashes in her grip, pulling the two trolls closer. The smaller purple, Gamzee stumbled alongside her in a sort of daze, his lighter spots of plating on his face looking like clown makeup. Next to him was his brother, Kurloz. The taller troll had lightened plating as well, his mouth still sewn shut. He didn’t seem too happy about it. Jane tugged him forward regardless. Their preparation station was near the far back, an almost permanent feature after Kurloz bit the fingers off a handler. This way they were a safe distance from others. Jane hooked their collars to the holding block in preparation. She dropped her bag on the bench and opened it to find their supplies. First was to get Kurloz’s stitches off. Jane picked up the red handled scissors and placed a gentle hand on Kurloz’s chin. He obediently let her lift his head and run the scissor blade under the stitches. One quick snip and they were off. Jane tugged out the left over cord and let Kurloz stretch his jaw. His row of jagged teeth glinting in the light. Now she needed to check Gamzee’s sopor levels. Armed with a pen light she stepped around Kurloz to the smaller troll who was staring at the other trolls in fascination. “Gamzee. Eyes up.” She ordered calmly, kneeling down to his level. Her baby blue dress pooled softly around her feet while Gamzee turned his head to her. She shined the pen light into one pupil, watching the speed it contracted. Perfect. She clicked off the light and gave Gamzee’s head a scritch. He churred happily and leaned into her touch. “Troll 413 you are up next.” The intercom crackled. Jane stood and attached her leash to Gamzee. He would go first tonight. When she approached the ring the other trolls from the last battle had been dragged out. On the other side of the arena a heavy set handler in the club’s signature neon green brought in an even more muscular looking blueblood. “Fin.” She greets politely, in her baby blue and white dress. The crowd whistled to her, a few throwing out comments. Jane only pressed her red frame glasses higher on her face. “Release.” The announcer ordered from their raised stage. It was Snow tonight. Her dark skin wrapped in a sparkling black dress. Jane undid Gamzee’s collar and stepped back behind the wooden walls of the arena. In the dirt floor the blue blood twitched with need to move while Gamzee sat there looking at the crowd with dazed interest. Jane glanced at her clock. 30 seconds left. Snow raised her hand up, the other holding her mic. “Ready, set, GO!” Jane watched the blue charge like a bull. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. She watched the effects of the sopor wear off and Gamzee’s eyes go wide. The was a flash and Gamzee was up and across the arena. In a panic the blue tried to stop its charge and hit the wood wall, making it shake. Gamzee shook his horns back and forth with a battle crazed smile on his face. The crowd cheered. When the blue turned to re-approach his opponent Gamzee was already there. His tall twisting horns sliced against plated skin, drawing blue to the surface. Another flash and Gamzee had backed up to let his opponent have time to counter. Jane watched Gamzee toss his horns again in challenge. The blueblood tossed his own horns and growled. The two charged, horns interlocking. The hook looking part on the blue’s horns caught against a curve of Gamzee’s leaving them interlocked. Front claws scrapes plated skin. Then Gamzee’s eyes went crazed and he realized he was trapped in the blue’s horns. He tossed his head and a crack echoed through the area. A blood curdling scream bubbled from the blue’s throat as his body dropped to the dirt. In place of his horns were two broken nubs of horns. Gamzee tossed his head and the two pieces of horn flew off and hit the dirt. A bell. “And the winner is! Gamzee Makara!” Snow announced. Fin the handler opened his gate door to bring the blue blood back to his owner. Jane stepped into the arena with the collar. Gamzee twitched and growled when she approached. But he soon relaxed, purring when Jane got close enough to lock the collar around him. She took out the gummy sopor and popped it into his mouth. The effects were immediate. A fog covered his eyes and his body relaxed even more. Jane lead him out of the arena and back to his brother, a thin smile playing on her lips.