Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’d been a month since the Mountain King Incident, and Hilda had a problem, well, perhaps “Problem” wasn’t the right way to describe what she was thinking about. She stomped down the apartment stairs, jumping from 5 steps up, and thumping loudly as she landed, stumbling with refined grace out onto the street.

The Mountain King fiasco, which had probably a hundred different names all throughout the city, had left Hilda changed in more ways than one. She had been changing a lot recently, it’d only been a month since Trundle had busted down the wall, but she was far different than she used to be.

She made her way out into the city streets, making a brisk pace towards the wall. Besides still being able to understand and speak Troll, The first thing she had noticed was how hungry she could get now. She ate a lot more than she used to. Before, two slices of her Mums pie would’ve been enough to make her sick to her stomach, now she could eat the entire thing and still go for seconds.

Her Mum had been quite worried about that, but Hilda had asked her Amma. Trylla told her that Changeling magic was old, and rarely practiced, that it’s likely there were lingering effects from her time as a Troll, she’d see what she could learn. Baba herself had been undergoing some changes as well, but not as drastic and fast as hers.

The second thing she noticed was her stamina. Even as a human she always had great stamina, she could outrace any of her classmates in the gym. Now though? Well now she was literally running laps around them, and barely exerting herself. Troll Stamina sure had it’s benefits, and she loved the rush of being able to run for miles and not have to stop.

She was fairly certain she’d put on weight too, but in a way that made her more Dense. She was still the same shape as she always was, save for perhaps finally getting a bit taller, but her steps were heavier and the weak floor-boards in the flat creaked underneath her weight. 

And then there was her Nose, she could swear it was longer than it used to be. Day by day, Hilda was becoming more and more Troll-like.

And therein was the problem. Something Hilda had been grappling with in the passing weeks. Not the changes in themselves, but the fact that Hilda was finding that she didn’t mind, and was enjoying them, craving more of it.

Each little thing that settled into place made her feel more confident, more safe and at home in her own body, she’d never struggled with that before, but now it was like something had been lifted off her shoulders, she hadn’t realized it was there. And there was her second problem, and the reason she was headed outside the wall. She needed a non-biased opinion. 

They’d mean well, but she knew her friends just wouldn’t get what she was trying to say. Or would try to help her “Fix” it, when it was a problem she didn’t think she wanted to fix. And then there was her Mum, what would her Mum say, after all that effort and pain to get her back to human? That she didn’t want it anymore, wanted to be a Troll?

She knew her Mum wasn’t stupid, she wasn’t particularly trying to hide the changes either, embracing them even. Her Mum acted like it didn’t bother her, making jokes about where Hilda put all that food for example. But it was bothering her Mum, she could tell.

It was one of the things that caused that divide between them for so long. Hilda had been “Trollish” long before the Mountain King Incident. And in Trolburg, that was a bad thing. They’d long since made up, but Hilda understood the pressures Trolburg was putting on her Mum, and why they’d gotten to that point.

She’d always been more physically affectionate than most people, something that seemed to be much worse after being turned into a Troll, but that also could’ve been because she was spending time with her Amma, who would pick her up and carry her all the time, she was embarrassed at first being handled like a baby, but now looked forward to the snug stone of her arms.

She could rarely sit still, she got distracted very easily, she always wanted to adventure and wander, so much so that at times she couldn’t stop herself, and most of all, was bad at everything Humans at large seemed to love. Jobs, Schedules, Rules, Laws. She’d never really gotten along with those ideas, even before she came to Trolburg, the only reason she hadn’t really skipped school was because she enjoyed learning a lot.

All those things made her Amma think that she’d make a good Troll. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but agree. She was never good at fitting in with the people of Trolburg, she was an oddity, and outlier for many reasons.

She let her thoughts still as she made it to the wall, letting out a sigh, barely tired despite the long run. Construction on rebuilding it had already begun, patching the hole Trundle had kicked in it. She didn’t see the point, now that things were well off between Trolls and Humans, but she knew from personal experience that not everyone was keen on letting go of their biases.

There hadn’t been any big incidents, yet. Just disparaging looks, and whispered cruelties when they thought she couldn’t hear, but she was there that night. Before she was known partially around town as that Blue-Haired Trouble Maker. A Minor celebrity, if that. It amused her and her friends and family.

Now? She was directly responsible for the peace that she’d helped weave between the Trolls and Humans. She was there that night, when Amma had spoken to them all. When her voice had sung out from the cracks in the ground. It had been a big surprise when it happened, but she had bloomed alongside the rest of the Trolls. Flowers weaving themselves delicately into her hair.

She could still remember it as if it was happening to her right that moment. The warmth that spread through her whole body, the feeling of overwhelming love and acceptance as Amma talked to her. Mother and Grandmother to all Trolls, and she considered Hilda one of them. Talked to her just like everyone else, spread her magic into her, in a way as to not hurt her more delicate skin.

Her being a Changeling, if that's the phrase she wanted to use for herself that is, was now an open secret. Not exactly widely known, but certainly not a secret. People didn’t understand the intricacies of that though, to most people, they just considered Hilda a Troll, even before she’d started to change.

Their blame and praise all landed first most on her shoulders. Even Ahlberg with his stupid medal, for stopping a problem he caused , didn’t get as much flak as she was receiving.

She didn’t know how she felt about all that attention, the good or the bad. That could be a problem for future Hilda to deal with, after she grappled with the shaky-ness of her identity and told her family.

She strolled up to the Safety Patrol that were overseeing the project. She still strongly disliked the Safety Patrol, and more than a few didn’t like her. But there was one Safety Patrol member that she did like.

“Gerda!” She sang out, and the woman looked up from her clip-board, a smile spreading across her face. “Hilda! Good Evening, what are-oof!” Hilda had rammed into her, wrapping her up in a hug. It was returned after a few moments, with gentle pats as the two split. “Hah, you always surprise me with that, you know?”

“Hah, so I’ve been told. So, still rebuilding the wall huh?” she said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Gerda cracked a smile “It was enough trouble to convince the higher-ups to allow trolls to help remove the rubble, and sort the stone from the…..Troll pieces.” she said awkwardly. “I’m never going to convince them to not rebuild the wall, Hilda, though your heart is in a good place.”

She had had a hand in that herself, Trundle…she had a lot of complicated feelings around Trundle, that much was sure. Even still, he deserved a dignified rest, not having pieces of his body used to rebuild the wall, or otherwise tossed somewhere in the woods or desecrated, by Trolls or Humans.

She was surprised at how easily she’d gotten Gerda to agree with that, and she knew she had to fight for it with whatever council, she didn't know the inner workings of Safety Patrol, nor did she want to. It had seemed to go a lot smoother though, once she got involved. 

She had to help with the matter, her Mum helped too. Most of the pieces were too big to be carried by humans, and she mostly translated for the Crew, but to her it was a perfect example of what she wanted to stick. Humans and Trolls, working together.

“Well I have to try, I just wanted to let you know I’m headed outside the walls, just so you don’t hear it from one of your officers, like last time.” Gerda snorts, and then scoffs. “I really can’t believe Halvorsen tried to convince me that you were planning on bringing the trolls back for a revolt. Especially after the clean-up.”

The two devolved into laughs at that, it was honestly funny imagining Hilda of all people, leading something like that. Though she supposed her prior acts of Eco-Terrorism did put that into question, she and her friends had never gotten caught for it though!

“So, going to see your Troll Mum?” Gerda had asked, and Hilda shook her head. “No, I'm not visiting Amma tonight, a different friend.” Gerda looked confused for a moment. “Is Amma not the ah, big one, beneath the town?”

Hilda could hear the trepidation in her voice, and she understood. Amma did have the power to destroy Trolburg at basically any moment, Hilda knew she never would, but it was asking a lot of others to believe that. “No No it, uhm. Well it doesn’t translate well, but there's a difference between my Amma, as in my troll Mum Trylla, and Amma, all of our Mums.”

She knew Gerda didn’t get it from the look on her face, but she just couldn’t figure out the right inflection in English as there was in Trollish. She also got a look, when she referred to her and the Trolls as one group, but it wasn’t hostile, and she didn’t mention it. “Ah I, Suppose. Well I’ll mark your leaving the city, don’t stay out there too late.”

She salutes, and Gerda rolls her eyes, knowing she doesn’t mean it. She ducks through the construction site, it’s not built enough to stop her from clamoring through it yet. She ignores the indignant yells of the crew as she did, and she slipped through the crack, out into the wilderness beyond.

Chapter Text

Hilda knew just who she needed to talk to, and she knew the exact route to his house. She didn’t make too many stops on the way, she didn’t know if he slept at all, but it’d be rude to show up so late. She did stop to say hello to a few of her new friends though. She’d made plenty over the last month.

Like Thrukn, he was really huge but extremely friendly, and tended to stick near the wall. According to him, he was only a few years older than her despite how big he was. He loved cameras though, even moreso when she’d shown him how to use the one around his wrist, and she’d bet her beret that he was going to start a Horde based on them.

Speaking of hoards, she didn’t know if it was the right word, but she’d been having cravings to hoard things as well. She didn’t know what exactly she wanted to hoard though, Berets seemed almost too obvious, a good fallback to be certain though. She’d have to talk to her Amma later.

She picked up a particularly large Pine Cone as she walked. Maybe stuff like this? She already knew one gentleman who collected Pine cones though, she didn’t know the troll etiquette on this kind of thing, but it’d feel rude to collect the same thing. She already had a rock collection, but she did live in an apartment, hoarding stones was going to be a problem eventually.

She stopped to see another friend as she tossed the Pine cone aside. Sassifire was brick red, and was the shape of a brick as well. She was a few years younger than herself, but very nice.

She had nervously approached Hilda when she’d been out here playing with Baba one night. She was very skittish and nervous, but a good friend once the two had gotten to know each other, she reminded her of David, in that way.

They talked, the guttural growls and hisses of Trollish spilling out of her human mouth with practiced ease, magical ease maybe? She had a grasp of Trollish as if she’d grown with it her whole life. Apparently some Trolls were talking about doing some kind of event for Trundle, like a service or funeral.

Well, add another thing she had to deal with onto the pile eventually. She waved goodbye to Sassifire, and hopped down a small embankment for a shortcut, trying not to think about Trundle at the moment.

The trek to the house itself wasn’t all that bad. Even before she had Troll stamina. And soon enough, her musings on any potential future hoards or kings of mountains are put to a stop as she comes to the base of a large tree, a cabin built around it's base. She thinks about knocking on the door for a moment. The lights are on inside, and she thinks she can smell something.

She decides to just walk inside.

The house is warm, spilling outwards as she comes in. The fire that roars is one thing, but it’s also homely, that cottage cozyness she no longer had access to in Trolburg. The apartment was cozy, but a different breed of it. She almost thinks about leaving the door open, but no, she’s not that rude. And she shuts it behind her.

“I thought it was rude to invite yourself in like that, you’re setting a bad example.” She hears him say. He’s looking up from the stove, where two kettles are burning away, Woodman standing next to them, and she smells peppermint tea in the air.

“Woodman, did you get my favorite tea? Just for me?” “Figured you stop by at some point, even if you do have an unrefined palette, didn’t want to be drinking on my own.” he says simply, and pours them both cups. Peppermint Tea for her, and Muck and Twigs for him. 

He walks over to her, and hands her her cup, which she takes gently. “How awfully thoughtful, how did you know I was coming anyhow?” “I heard you about five minutes ago. Loud, Just like a Troll.” he sips from his tea, loudly. “But I guess that makes sense.”

“Have you heard of that?” she asks, following him through his gaudy dining room. She really can’t believe that he wasn’t kidding about the nautical theme, that Coral Sextant he stole sitting on the table.

“How could I not? Troll the size of a mountain, kicking the wall down. Little “Blue Haired Troll” stopping the city from being destroyed, inspiring stuff.” “Heh, Well I did my best.” she says, and takes a sip from her tea. She must’ve made a face, because Woodman comments on it. “Afraid I'm not too good at making other types of tea.”

“It’s fine, just has an earthy after-taste” She says, making a face. The mud he boils must’ve stuck to the inside of the pot, or something. But she could deal with that. “I actually wanted to talk to you about that all, at least related. You seemed like you’d offer the best unbiased opinion.”

“You know I’m not some kind of therapist, right? Wrong kind of Spirit.” He says, matter of factly. He doesn’t motion for her to stop though, staring at her, as if she expects her to continue.

She fiddles with her cup, nursing on it even though it's honestly not good. “I’ve been thinking a lot, and I don’t think...I'm not good at being a Human. I don’t think I ever was, long before I got turned into a Troll.” she says softly. She looks up at him, and he’s staring at her. His expressions are always impossible to read, so she continues. “Woodman, before I was actually a troll. Would you say I was Trollish?”

“Well truth be told, I don’t know if I can think of another word to describe you better. Most people don’t take kindly to being called a Troll, though.” He says, he stirs his steaming mud with his stick.

She nods a bit, it didn’t settle much, she figured that. “Yeah, lots of other people seemed to think so, they meant it as an insult, like bullies at school, or the teachers when I'm being too loud, or Frida’s Mum at one point.” She pauses, to take another sip. It was Gross.

 “When I first got turned into a Troll, It was terrifying, and scary. I hated it. But, now I’m changing. Small and incremental, all these different ways I’m more Troll than human.” “I was wondering if I was seeing things, with your eyes glowing and all.” He jests.

“Huh?” She says, and looks towards the nearest reflective surface, her tea,  shimmering gently as she stares at her own eyes, a dull orangeish glow in them. How long had that been happening?

“Doesn’t seem like not being Human is bothering you much.” He barrels onwards, taking a sip of his tea again.“So why trek all the way out here, seems to me like you’ve made peace with it already.”

“It’s…not something I should be okay with, is it? Not something I should crave?” She asks, like she’s hoping Woodman will tell her that it’s not okay. “According to whom, Trolburg? I bet they’d have lots to say about your friendliness with spirits, or your Adventures. But I don’t see that stopping you.”

She hummed gently, fiddling with her Cup. “I think you're nervous about what other people will think, and are trying to think up excuses for why you shouldn’t. But you shouldn’t let other people dictate what you do with your life.” He states, as if it's a fact.

“What about….my mum, and my friends.” She starts slowly, looking back up at him. “After everything you’ve been through together, you think they won’t understand?” He asks, and she shakes her head.

“It’s. I don’t know. Mum it’s, the whole thing with me being a Changeling. It scared her badly. She’s still really mad at Amma, and I get it, I’ve not forgiven her entirely either. She tries not to let on, but I know she’s been having nightmares about me being taken again. I don’t…I feel like I’d just be confirming her fears.”

“Hiding things from your Mom again?” he asks, looking over at her for a moment. Like he was trying to spot all the ways she was different. “Didn’t work out all that well the first time. Well…I guess in hindsight, it did work out pretty well didn’t it, peace between Trolls and Humans, afterall.”

She huffs at that, staring at him. “Not lying , I intend to tell her I just have to fully figure it out yet. I don’t think David and Frida would mind that much….” She trails off, really she had no reason to delay it with those two. But they’d want her to tell her Mum.

“Not Likely with those two. They’ve got through the thick of it with you, being a Troll, well, I don’t think that’s gonna change much. Don’t know much that could tear you apart.” he pauses, to take another long sip of his boiling mud, before he places it down.

“So it’s mostly about how your Mom will react then?” and Hilda can’t help but freeze up a bit at that, she was nervous about explaining it to her best friends. But really, at the end of the day, she knew they’d get it eventually. Even if it was gonna be difficult.

Woodman gets up and heads to a bookshelf, running his fingers along the book spines, looking for a specific one. “Thing is, people grow and they change. Sometimes it means a new hair-do. Sometimes it’s growing up. Sometimes, it’s finding out you’re no longer the person you thought you were, for better and for worse.”

“It feels weird though.” she says, frowning. “It was, so scary being switched like that. And It still kinda is, but I’m not nearly as bothered by it now, and it feels like some weird…disconnect.”

“Well” He says, plucking a book off his shelf, blowing a gust of wind out of the hole on his head to rid it of dust. “That was a big change, all at once. This one is slower, and incremental. You have time to get used to the changes before more come.”

“I guess…” She mumbles, and she did like what was happening now, even if being a Troll fully at the time had scared her. “Even if it does scare your Mom, what could she do to stop it?”

“That’s not too reassuring, you know.” she grumps, as she catches a look at the book he’s carrying. The title is an addition stitched into the cover, the rest of the book a dull cyan color. ‘Changeling Myths & Legends’. “Never said I would be.” he says, placing the book down at his side.

He flips it open “Changelings like you and your Sister aren’t too well known, plenty of myths and legends. But they’re not backed up by much fact. Most people don’t think they're real, after all they kinda stopped happening a long time ago.”

“What changed?” She asked, taking another sip as she joined him on the floor. “Not Sure, might just be that they didn’t work out all that well. You know Humans, especially in the past, their first instinct on something weird, different, or magical happening was to kill it. Or try to.”

She can’t help but grimace at that idea, a cold feeling settling in her gut. Imagining something like that happening to Baba. “Not Pretty. Even if they were sending them away, many weren’t willing to send their children to potential death.” He explains, flipping through the book at a leisurely pace.

He was right, there were stories mostly involving the Fae of some kind. Which intrigued her, but there was mostly Horror at it. Some of the stories involved people throwing the changeling baby into a FIRE of all things! The rest of it seemed horribly wrong, at least from her perspective. Like the story of a Troll who swapped kids, so that it could have humans to put into its stew.

She might very well be one of the few people on the planet to actually go through this kinda thing in recent times. And well, if that didn’t make her problem all the more worse. 

A story caught her attention. A Nisse who had swapped children with someone, before being kicked out of the house. A Punishment of some sorts, but as she read through it, it explained that once the two children met up together later in life, they were able to switch between forms at will. Wouldn’t that be nice.

“I think.” the Woodman said, catching her attention again. “You should embrace it, Even if your human Mom will be upset with it, I think she’ll come around.”

She nodded, it was true. She didn’t intend to stop but, she guessed she just wanted confirmation, more than anything. “Thanks Woodman, I think. I’ll talk to my Mum eventually.”

“Better than not at all. And as much as I enjoy the company, I’m afraid I’m not one for overnight guests, especially not Trolls.” She can't help but smile wide at that.

“No? Why not?” “I’m not looking to add stone statues into my decor, or stay up all night long.” She snorts at that, standing up, and running a hand down the book on Changelings. “Well, I’ll get going then. Maybe I will stop to see Amma tonight after all. Mum wanted me back at 8.”

“Let her know I said hello, both of them.” he says, collecting her cup. And she snorts. “Will do, Goodnight Woodman, and Thanks.” “Anytime Kid” he says, picking his mug up as he sips on it, walking over to his Kitchen.

“Just Walk on In.”

Chapter Text

Johanna had a problem, the least of which was her wandering mind. She sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that night, and returned to her work on the soup she was making. Chopping up bits of potatoes into smaller bite sized pieces.

She found her mind wandering even still, and she sighed once more. It had only been a month since That Night, and it felt ever present in her mind. She always knew she lived a strange life, compared to most people, but it seemed to grow more strange by the day.

“Baba! Bababa!” Johanna couldn’t help but smile still, at the new little voice that was becoming a semi-regular occurrence. Baba walked up to her, and gently smacked the cupboards. “I know you're hungry dear, but it’ll be done in just an hour, promise.” She pouted but toddled away, over to their wounded warrior.

Tontu was sick, she didn’t realize Nisse could even get sick but she supposed it made sense. She put the rest of the ingredients in, and turned the heat to high, placing the lid gently on the top. The soup was for him, something easy to digest and warm. That always helped Hilda.

She smiled as she watched her little Troll sit down next to Tontu and gently start placing plushies on and around him. “Thank you Baba” He says quietly, voice more nasally than usual. She can’t help but giggle at that, and Tontu gives her a look.
Now, Trolls were still technically not allowed in the city, it had only been a single month since That Night had happened after all. Baba was, however, a bit of an exception. Safety Patrol had at the very least not bothered her at all. Or had the common sense to not approach her.

“How are you feeling Tontu?” She asked, gently placing a hand against his forehead, he didn’t feel too hot. “Eugh…not great…..I’m just looking forward to some more of your soup.” “Well it’ll be done in just an hour, Hilda should be back by then and we can eat.”

“Sis! Sistah!” Baba babbled, and Johanna giggled “That’s right dear, your sister will be back soon.” And she gently patted her head. She had started working on a drawing, gently gripping the crayon with her whole hand. Baba had started to learn English words, though her words were limited mostly to ‘Good, Bad, Sister.’ And ‘Mum’.

That last one was especially strange, Baba calling her Mum, or ‘Amma’ occasionally. She’d not expected any of what had happened during That Night, or anything surrounding the whole “Mountain” Incident, but she would’ve never guessed that she’d get so attached to Baba either.

Which was one of many problems plaguing her. She sat on the couch, letting her thoughts drift instead of paying attention to the programs Tontu was flipping through, trying to find something good to watch that was age appropriate.

Baba saw Johanna as her own Mum, and If she was honest with herself she saw Baba as her own child, an intricate part of their seemingly ever growing family. She’d grown incredibly attached in the short amount of time, and missed her deeply when she was in the wilds.

She figured it had something to do with that spell that had caused this whole mess. Troll Magic bewitching her, tying her heart in little strings. That should probably really disturb her…but when Johanna really sat down and thought about it…she didn’t really find herself bothered by that fact. She knew she was probably supposed to be, but those feelings just didn’t come.

She didn’t understand how it all worked, she knew magic existed but having it so close to her life was a tad, unnerving. Even if that was what was going on, she loved Baba.

She looked over to Baba herself, the little girl doodling Hilda as a Troll, and she felt a pang in her heart. That was another issue that had her so very distracted tonight. Her Daughter was…changing in some way. She thought she was looking too into things with the stress of everything, but the changes kept coming, more and more obvious. For Goodness sake her eyes were glowing now! If that wasn’t confirmation enough, Baba herself was changing too.

She had a little peach fuzz on her head, it felt odd, like a layer of sand stuck to her, in clumps and knots that returned to where she’d pulled it from, like it was magnetic. She thought she’d just been dirty at first, but she’d clearly been growing some kind of hair. She’d seen trolls with fur before, but this was different, it had a wavy pattern that reminded her of Aunt Astrid's hair, though this was coming in a dull red color.

Baba was also mellowing out a lot, she was still an incredible ball of energy, but she was certainly a lot less troublesome than she had been. Johanna didn’t know if that was because she was getting better at learning how to deal with her though, but they seemed awfully connected.

It was honestly scaring her. A lot. Things with Hilda had gotten out of control, leading to the whole Stone Forest and Changeling incident in the first place. They’d made up with each other, and Hilda had been informing her of adventures over the past month.

She was still so worried about Hilda, about being overbearing, or not supportive enough. What if the Changeling Spell was reverting? Hilda would be transformed into a Troll fully again. Things were better now but that would make things so complicated for her to navigate life.

She was scared as well that Hilda seemed okay with the changes, and she felt terrible about that. Part of her was afraid that Hilda would go out into the wilds with that Troll woman Trylla and never return, and she knew that was unfair of her to even think.

Hilda was a wanderer, she had always been, and she always would be. Johanna had accepted that long ago, and had recently had a very scary reminder of it and why it was important to support her daughter. She knew that Hilda would return to her, would keep being her Daughter……but……

It was all so complicated. She didn’t wish her Daughter was different, loved her more than anything, Trollness included, but she had no idea how to deal with all this stuff, she didn’t know if anyone else did know how to deal with this. “Amma! Amma!” Baba says, and points to the picture of her Troll Mother and Her Holding hands.

Trylla, the Troll that had done this to her. She had apparently said everything was fine, ‘lingering effects of the spell’, but Hilda had to translate for them and had told her after the fact of a night out with her. She had more than a slight suspicion that her daughter was leaving details out. Another thing that made her feel a bit guilty for doubting her, once they started being more honest with one another.

“Oh that’s very lovely Baba, It’s so pretty! Is that me?” She babbles excitedly, nodding and turns back to drawing. She smiled softly at the girl, After Anders Johanna figured she’d never have another child, but Baba reminded her so much of young Hilda and made her happy.

Her eyes turn back to the Troll she’d drawn, She was honestly still furious at Tryllal, but she was begrudgingly beginning to accept that she’d have to get used to her. Hilda was adamant about having her in her life. She hadn’t been able to explain why exactly, but she figured it might be something like her attachment to Baba.

An inexplicable warmth bloomed in her chest, when she looked at her. Some deep part of Johanna just knew that Baba was hers. Hilda probably saw the same thing for Trylla just, in reverse.

She’d be terribly heartbroken if she never got to see Baba again, and with Hilda insistence to have Trylla in their life. She was going to have to get used to her, and find a way to communicate with her that wasn’t their shared Daughter. Maybe it was time for her to learn sign language?

Regardless, She hoped that whatever she and the Woodman were talking about would help. Johanna was trying to be more lenient, even with everything that's happened. Hilda seemed to not know how to bring up the changes herself, not exactly. They’d had a stilted and somewhat awkward conversation about it that hadn't really gone anywhere, a few nights back.

Hilda had promised her that she’d talk to her about it, once she knew what to say, and she didn’t want to pressure her about it. She could see the little flashes of Guilt on her face, when she’d brought them up. When she’d catch her admiring her nose in the mirror. It did look longer, just a tad.

“Woah….is that Hilda?” Tontu says, and Johanna is brought out of her spiraling thoughts to the TV, which is on the news. There are photos of her baby girls on the news!! She can feel herself gasp as a picture of them hugging on That Night. The news lady speaks. “More News on the Troll girl who supposedly is the reason the city was saved. As well as a short snippet one of your junior reporters got with her.”

Johanna looked at Baba, who was still happily coloring, and sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose. Oh HIlda. The tv went to Commercial, and She felt the tiny presence of Alfur hopping up onto her shoulder “Oh what has that girl gotten into now, I swear she’d learned nothing from all our adventures, never agree to an impromptu interview like this!” and he makes a tsk’ing noise as he gets out his ever present notebook and pencil.

Her little girl was going to be on the News, and what a headache of an idea that gave her. Their commercials were over before she knew it, showing photos from That Night. Talking about the Trolls walking into the city, word had spread quickly apparently about the Giant Troll slumbering under the city.

Johanna had honestly not been watching the news, pointedly avoiding it. She didn't need any other stressors in her life. Apparently they’d been talking about “The Blue Haired Troll and Her Sister” quite a lot, and there were still a lot of questions they had.
They showed a video of that big Troll being obliterated, talking over it and speculating about it. Hilda had called him Trundle? She was glad Baba wasn’t watching, not paying attention in the slightest. How cruel to just show a man die, on TV like that. No matter how much she disliked him, from what she’d been told.

Video of When Baba had run towards her sister without a care in the world. Hilda had run after her, only thinking of protecting her. The Safety Patrol had guns pointed at her. Guns. At what was so obviously a baby Troll. A thought still made Johanna shiver in revulsion. The two clashed together as the ground quaked, as Hilda shielded her sister with her whole body.

She hadn’t realized that the media was there That Night, of course it made sense when she thought about it, but she was too caught up in the whirlwind That Night was to really notice. The Anchor prattles on about it, and more photos are brought up. Shaky footage from a nearby house's second story, when the Trolls had bloomed. When her daughter had bloomed.

She didn’t even know what to think, when that had happened. She still didn’t. She could hear something That Night. Soft, melodic almost, worming its way through the cracks in the ground. But impossible to discern in any real way besides the fact that it was there.

Hilda had heard it as clear as her own voice. She had stood there, arms outstretched to her sides, eyes closed. Johanna had never seen her look so content, so calm and so happy. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anyone look like that.

Then her hair had Bloomed. Vines and flowers weaving themselves along the natural blue Johanna so loved. Sprouting from her just like the rest of the Trolls. That had kept Johanna up at night. This big troll, that lay below them all. Considered Hilda one of her children.

Once that footage is over, the News Anchor reappears. “And now, Ladies and Gentleman” The News Lady says, a somber tone that doesn’t really fit the situation, if she was honest. “The Breaking News that our Junior reporter Trisha McCloud managed to capture just earlier this evening, talking with said Blue Haired Troll.”

Everyone in the house was watching with vested interest, as they switched over to another feed. Hilda was clambering through a hole in the wall, from still active construction. Hilda was dirty and had clearly been playing with Trolls, her hair would always get dirty and filled with rock dust, dulling the color slightly.

“Hello! Hello, excuse me! Little Girl?!” Hilda's head swiveled over, her eyes twinkled and reflected from the Camera. Bright and Orange. Confused and a bit Surprised. The person holding the camera had clearly been startled by that and stopped, as this young Trisha woman walked over to her.

The Camera caught up a moment later “Good Evening, my name is Trisha McCloud, I’m with channel 9 news, could I talk to you for a few minutes?” Hilda finished scrambling through and dusted herself off, and smiled big and wide and, oh goodness did Hilda have fangs now?? When did that happen!?

“Really? Wow! I’ve never been on the news before! Hi Mum!” She says, and waves at the Cameraman who flinches, flinches! Her daughter wasn’t going to hurt whoever that man was!

“Well nice to meet you, could I get your name?” She asks, and Hilda nods “My Name is Hilda!” “Well nice to meet you Hilda, now, I have a few questions about the incident a month ago, if you’d be willing to talk about it?”

Hilda does look a tad uncomfortable for a moment, and shrugs “Sure? I can’t stay too long, Mum’s expecting me back and she’s making Supper.” Trisha chuckles at that, and smiles wide “Alright, just three questions, would that be okay?”

Hilda nods, and the girl takes out quite a few Notecards, sifting through them to see what to ask her, clearly expecting to sit down for a full interview with the child. She was a kid for goodness sake!

Alfur scoffs “Flashcards, such an unprofessional way to keep notes." As he starts furiously writing everything down about the interview.

“Alright” She says, finally finding one thats good. “Hilda, can you tell us, what was your perspective of that night? Lots of people think the Trolls were here to just destroy the town, is that true?”

“No! Well, not really?” She says and she hums for a moment “We were trying to stop that, me and my Amma, but I only figured out the whys and stuff right there. They just wanted to see their Mum, and their Mum wanted to see them.”

“Their ‘Mum’, is that the really really big troll, we’ve heard, is beneath the town?” She asks, and Hilda nods “Yup, Amma” she says, putting that special little inflection on it, whenever she was talking about the Troll beneath Trolburg. “She’s the mother of all Trolls, she’d never get up and hurt Trolburg, but she missed her children.”

“Hmmm I see, and was that what the whole ‘blooming’ was about?” “Yes! They finally got to talk to her, I got to talk to her” She says a bit softer, a smile of fond recognition on her face.

“So you were there? What did that feel like?” Alfur scoffs and mutters something about ‘going over the allotted question limit’ and Johanna would probably have gently chided him if she wasn’t so laser focused.

Hilda smiles softly, a similar look to that content feeling Johanna had seen her with. “It was amazing, it was like being hugged by your mum, your aunt, your best friends, everyone you’ve ever known and loved all at the same time. But not overwhelming.”

The lady softens a bit at Hilda’s description, and nods “That sounds pretty special, well I’m glad you all got to talk to your Mum. Do you think they’ll be back? Do you think it’ll involve knocking the wall down again?”

“Oh well, I don’t see any point in the wall anymore, since we’re all friends” Oh Hilda, oh sweet naive Hilda, she loved her so much, that was not the thing to say.

“But, I can’t see anyone else smashing it down. As for them coming back into the city, of course! It’s our land as much as yours.” She says, a bright little smile on her face. Showing off her canines which seemed a bit bigger and sharper than they probably should be. And there she went again, lumping herself in with Trolls, specifically against Humans.

“It’s not-....” she hears the Cameraman start to talk, and Trisha gives him a stink eye that quiets him down. As she turns back to Hilda. “Sorry we got a bit off track, are you ready for the next question?”

Hilda shrugs “I really have to get home, I’m sorry.” She does seem fairly disappointed, but nods “Oh it’s alright, Well I’d love to do another interview with you sometime. I have lots of questions, and you're a delightful little Troll to talk to.” Hilda giggles at that, smile on her face, and she doesn’t deny being called a Troll yet again. “Aw well thanks, I’ll ask my Mum if we can head down to the news sometime! This was fun!”

Johanna hears the door unlock and swing open and she startles a bit, as Hilda walks in. Her eyes twinkle with orange light softly, but the glow dissipates and shows off her normal dark blues. “Hi Mum!”

Baba stands up and shrieks, getting up and running over to Hilda, who picks her up, swinging her around like she weighed nothing. She sighed, and smiled, standing up. “Alright Missy, go take a bath, you're filthy! Baba doesn’t need another bath.” Hilda looks a bit sheepish as she sets down Baba and gives a kiss on her temple.

“Alright Mum, I will. Is Supper almost ready?” She nodded “Almost, better hurry up or Babas gonna eat it all up!” She teases, and Hilda giggles and will run off to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Johanna watched her run off to the bath, a smile stretched on her face. Mind thinking about the news, how they talked about her, How scared they all seemed to be of her daughter. Scared of the kindest person Trolburg had probably ever seen, who helped end hundreds of years of conflict because she couldn’t help but love, and care for the world around her.

She went to check on the soup, taking the lid off and stirring, taste testing the smallest amount. Yes. Whatever her daughter ends up being, Human, Troll, something inbetween or neither. She’d support her, one hundred percent.