Faded Rainbows

Time to think

Delta dawn wasn't a crier. The harshness of her desert home had hardened her emotions against near anything.

But heck if she wasn't close to tears by the end of Trollex's story. She dabbed at her eyes to clear any stray tears before they fell. "Kid, yer hard as rocks, ya know that?"

Trollex looked down at himself, giving his body a poke. "Techno trolls are actually kind of soft if you poke us, only are scales are hard, and even they are pretty soft."

She stared at him for a moment before laughing heartily. "Not what I meant, but sure!" She shook her head, standing from her seat. "I meant you got guts, kid. After all ya had ta deal with on yer own, yer still tryin' yer best for yer tribe. I can appreciate that." She walked over to a nearby hat rack, pulling the smallest one off and returning to Trollex. "Fer me, that makes ya an honorary Country troll." She plopped the hat on his head, and laughed as it slid down over his eyes. "Y'might hafta keep yer fins up if ya wanna see."

He did just that, perking his ear fins up as best he could. While the hat wasn't heavy, his fins weren't used to holding anything up. Even with that small set back he turned to Delta, a huge grin plastered over his face. "Thanks, Delta! I love it!"

She jumped a little in surprise. She had dealt with Clampers and the other kids in town being cute to get away with things, but it never worked. Somehow, with the hat askew on his head, one fin hidden while the other held it up, and his sparkling eyes half hidden under the brim, she couldn't help but admit he was cute enough to get away with murder.

Almost.

She cleared her throat, stepping away so he wouldn't see her moment of weakness. "Right! So, near as I can tell, t'get yer colors back, you need our help? I get that, sorta, but what's got me confused is why it's our music that gets the color back." She looked back towards him, having managed to calm herself.

He was about to answer, confident in his logic, but then paused. Why WAS it music? And for that matter, the music of other tribes? Shouldn't his own music be enough to get all his color back? For a while he thought it was just because of that story, but the story had the trolls friends offering up a piece of their color, not their music.

So why music now, then? He sighed, resting his chin on the back of the chair as he looked at Delta. "I don't know, actually..."

She wanted to pinch his pouty cheeks so bad! "Well, I might have an idea, but it's a lil weird." She walked over to her banjo, which had been sitting on a stand nearby. "I'm gonna sing ya a country song. That's what pop and funk did, right? That's how ya got yer purple and pink?"

When she got a nod from Trollex, she grinned. "Betcha won't get any color back from this."

Back through the years
I go wonderin' once again
Back to the seasons of my youth
I recall a box of rags that someone gave us
And how my momma put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors
Every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat
And it was way down in the fall
Momma sewed the rags together
Sewin' every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors
That I was so proud of

Trollex listened to the words, feeling them as much as he heard them. He looked at his arms, once so colorful, now dull and grey. What his mom would say if she saw him now...

As she sewed, she told a story
From the Bible, she had read
about a coat of many colors
Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you
Good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it
And momma blessed it with a kiss

He smiled softly, thinking about all the stories his mom would tell him to make him feel better about his differences. He missed them...

My coat of many colors
That my momma made for me
Made only from rags
But I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money
I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors
My momma made for me