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The weather in New York City was shockingly crisp. It was cold, much colder than it had been in Arcadia when Nomura left Little Gynt and his friends. Not that she minded. It reminded her of her human childhood, long, long ago. Well, maybe not that long ago, in the grand scheme of things. She wasn’t as old as Stricklander, for instance.
Finding him in the city was turning out to be like finding a needle in a haystack. A very sharp, very annoying needle that had a tendency to be a pain in her behind. The January chills weren’t enough to keep the crowds of fleshbag tourists away, still flocking to the city for the winter holidays. Everything was all bright and cheery, with lights in the streets and Christmas music still wafting out of every tourist trap. It was awful. Nomura wasn’t sure how long Stricklander had been hiding out here, but she guessed he’d chosen New York during Christmas for a reason. Hide in the crowds so no sneaks from the Janus Order could find him. Fortunately, Nomura wasn’t just any old Order member; she knew him well enough to be able to track him down. Knew his haunts, his favorite neighborhoods, exactly which pretentious coffee shop in the Village she’d be able to find him in. Just her luck, she could see him leaning over a battered book.
“I hope the coffee’s better than it was in the 90’s.”
Stricklander stiffened, turning around with eyes narrowed, and that stupid shit-eating grin of his. He didn’t look too pissed off, but honestly it was hard to tell with him.
“Nomura. What a pleasure. The Order sent you, I suppose?”
She saw the changeling eye the door, clearly getting ready to bolt if she tried anything. It was too crowded for them to bust out their troll forms, but she supposed if he ran he could get pretty far. But she was faster.
She sat down at the chair opposite his. His book sat at the little table, but it was so old she couldn’t even see a title on it. At least it wasn’t that old Ga-Huel book again.
“Can’t a girl visit an old friend without arousing suspicions?”
“I didn’t know you considered us friends. Color me surprised.”
“Well, I do. Or at least, I think I do. I’m new to this whole “friends” thing, but I’m trying it out. Is it working, Stricklander?”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that for you.” He fiddled with a pen, a cheap one that was clearly not the fountain pen he used to keep on himself at all times. Nomura wondered if he still had it. “If you’re not here on Order business, might I ask why you were looking for me? I am disgraced in the Order’s eyes, after all.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the Order thinks. Or Gunmar. I’m done with them. And I know you are, too.”
Despite that treasonous statement, there was curiosity in Stricklander’s eyes, one brow perked. “I’d love to hear what brought this change of heart about.”
“I was in the Darklands. Paying for Bular. For your mistakes.”
That wiped the stupid grin off of his stupid face. Nomura chuckled, despite herself.
She continued, “I thought I was going to die down there. No thanks to you, by the way.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. She wouldn’t let herself get worked up in front of him. Friendship, she could do, but emotions? No way. “I was ready to die down there. I was worth nothing to the Order or to Gunmar. I wasn’t worth much to anyone, really. I see that now. He helped me see that.”
“Who?”
“Your precious pupil.” She smirked to see his eyes widen. “The Trollhunter. I escaped the Darklands, thanks to him and his friends.”
“Young Atlas…Jim went into the Darklands? Why the hell would he do something so reckless?”
It was obvious seeing his face now that Bular was right, had always been right. Stricklander was attached to the boy. Very attached. Changelings were meant to be experts at hiding emotion. Pushing it so far down even you forget you ever felt something. But the concern was plain on his face. He really had changed. The better for her. It would be easier to convince him to come back.
“Not to rescue me, of course. He wanted to save the Nunez kid. He did save the Nunez kid. By himself. But he got caught. Our cells were right next to each other. He had no reason to be kind to me, after everything I did to him. I certainly didn’t deserve any of his kindness.”
“But he gave it to you anyway. I fear his heart will get him killed.”
“No, Stricklander, that’s the thing! I realized down there that it was keeping him alive. He was literally in Hell, and he never gave up hope. In his friends, in himself. In me. He believed in all of us. And it got us out of there.”
“He is too good. Like his mother.”
“Fucking hell, you’ve got it bad.” She couldn’t help but smile at him. He was practically blushing—since when does Stricklander blush? “But I get it. I loved someone once. And as much as it literally gives me physical pain to admit this to you, I might still love that someone.”
“Why have you come to me, then?”
“To thyself be true, and who cares what the world thinks. That’s what Little Gynt taught me, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“Little Gynt? Did you give the Trollhunter a nickname?”
“Did I? You’re one to talk, Stricklander! ‘Young Atlas this, Young Atlas that,’ you’re pathetically sappy. Terribly fleshbag-like. You really let the boy get to you.”
“Ah yes, you’re very changed, Nomura.” Strickler took a sip of his coffee. “This is all very sweet, but I’ve yet to see what it has to do with me.”
“Gunmar is angry. He’s met the Trollhunter, and I fear that he’s bringing war to the surface soon. But I believe Little Gynt has it in him to defeat Gunmar. We’ve just got to help bring it out of him.”
“I doubt he’ll accept my help, after all I’ve done.”
“He will. He saw the good in both of us. Besides, all that honor crap he’s getting from the Heartstone Trolls means nothing to Gunmar. We’ve got to teach him to fight dirty. And as we both know, we’re pretty damn good at it.”