I don't own Hilda.

tumblr and discord users might know this one

granted you'll find a buttload of stuff on tumblr for this AU so feel free to look it up if you're curious!

Living in the wilderness your entire life would open doors to many different dangers.

Hilda knew her corner of the world like the back of her hand, but by no means could she expect the day to day wonders and perils of nature.

But trauma... was always something she managed to escape somehow.

"Look, Twig, those are woffs!" She jumped directly on a woff's head and it went wild. She made it off with merely a few scratches and messy hair.

"Look, Twig, these are iron pines!" She climbed the tallest tree and fell, only to be safely caught by stray branches on her way down.

"Look, Twig, a forest giant!" She actually tried to climb a forest giant. Needless to say, she nearly got smacked but the giant tripped and missed his mark, faceplanting and allowing Hilda to escape unharmed.

"Look, Twig, I think I could summon a water spirit!" She could've drowned that day... if it weren't for her bizarre buoyancy. She came back home with a cold.

Just a few examples.

What kind of adventure would she throw herself into now?

"Look, Twig! It's a troll rock!"

The blue haired girl and her deerfox observed the boulder, the latter looking a mixture of frightened and annoyed, staying put a little ways away from the menacing stone.

"They're just rocks during the day, boy, don't worry!" Hilda laughs, pulling out her little black sketchbook, "I have to draw it."

She started out drawing the rock but began to stray from the original prompt, starting to doodle on the page until dusk. She didn't even think to put a bell on the troll's nose, but still...

The rock crumbles and Twig whimpers. Hilda looks up to see a pair of angry glowing eyes glaring at her.

Without question, they run. The troll gave chase, though it didn't want to go very far aside from getting the human out of its personal space.

When Hilda and Twig lose track of the troll, they huddle behind a tree to breathe. Something flickers, catching Hilda's attention. She glances around in surprise, but Twig gives her a confused look.

Was it a flashlight? A firefly? A lantern?

The girl stands up, and sees the flash again, a light that seemed... enthralling, somehow. It grew brighter until it looked like a shining orb small enough that Hilda could hold it in her hands. Yet Twig continued to look concerned for Hilda, as if he didn't see anything at all. Out of confusion, Hilda ran again, Twig in pursuit, all the way home. But the light followed, and it was fast.

The light chased Hilda into the cottage, through the door and up the stairs into her bedroom. She had attempted using pieces of furniture to block it, but it was unstoppable. She hid under her bed to hide from it as a last resort.

"What do you want!?" she asks in alarm.

A soft sigh escapes the glimmering sphere. Hilda peeks out from under the bed. It's simply floating there. Looking closely at it made her feel... comfortable, somehow. It seemed warm and familiar despite never seeing it before in her life.

"Hilda," it quietly calls her name. She feels obligated to stand up, crawling out of the dark.

The light slowly dims to reveal a tiny, fuzzy figure hovering before her, clearly masculine, clad in white, a bright golden halo over his head, and large fluffy white wings. Hilda felt compelled to pet them but figured it would be rude- the creature already looked angry enough. What was more striking was the lack of several physical features; his arms and legs were literally just sticks. He looked kind of like a little makeshift doll, Hilda thought. He was cute, but his aura seemed a little threatening.

"A little angel," Hilda mutters quietly to herself more so than her unearthly guest, "um... can I ask who you are and why you chased me? How do you know my name?"

"I'm not just an angel. I'm your angel," the angel replies, rather crossly, though he had a very pleasant voice, "or, angelf, if that fits your sense of humor."

"...Mine," Hilda echoes, confused.

"Your guardian angel," he clarifies, "everyone has one. Even your deerfox does... well, she's an angel nitten."

"Ah? I didn't know that," Hilda starts.

"Some choose to stay unseen by whom they were assigned, but we are with you your entire life," he explains gently.

"I see..." Hilda felt a little embarrassed and definitely had more questions in mind than what came out of her mouth, "so... you've been protecting me all this time? Why would you choose to appear to me now?"

The angel's gaze suddenly becomes fiercely intimidating towards Hilda. She steps back cautiously. His little cheeks puff out in anger as he starts a oddly quiet speech...

Or, more like a rant.

"Do you have any idea how much power I use up to keep you from fatal accidents every day!? You never listen! I literally have to manipulate fate itself for you. Multiple times! A day! It's exhausting! Eleven years and I don't even get a 'thank you'-"

"Thank you," Hilda interrupts.

"I-" the angel's face flushes bright red, "wh-what?"

"I said, 'thank you'," Hilda repeats, "and I'm sorry that I've been overworking you. If I had known you were the one behind all my good luck I would have been more careful and considerate."

The angel blinks slowly. The atmosphere about him suddenly changes. His eyes softened.

"Hilda... Wait, wait... did I just... did I just yell at you!?"

He suddenly bursts into tears. Hilda is understandably unsure what to think.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry! I don't have the right to lose my temper like that, especially not towards you! My own child!" He takes Hilda's hands despite not having any himself, "I'm supposed to be the light that guides you to happiness, not the light that chases you for half a mile through the woods at night! Oh, God..."

The girl watches her angelf with mild concern and guilt. When he held her hands she felt a surge of warmth. She felt safe.

"It's okay, sir, you were stressed... everyone has limits... I suppose tonight I pushed it too far." Hilda looks down.

"I'm still sorry. I must've been an absolute burden to protect for so long. You don't have to-"

"Excuse me?" the angel looks upset again, the fierce aura returning as he flies right into her face, before calming down again and hugging her, nuzzling her nose.

"You are not a burden, Hilda! I've been with you since the moment you were born... I wouldn't give you up for the world. I love you so, so much..."

Hilda feels tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Besides," the angel continues, "it's my job as a guardian angel to protect you, and I intend to keep that job.

"It's so nice to formally meet you, Hilda," he lands on the floor and bows gracefully like a knight towards a princess, spreading out his wings, "Guardian Angel of the Eighth Order, Alfur at your service."

Worldbuilding for this was really fun oml

we have some wholesome cheese but there's also some crazy stuff so hold onto your hat

I have two Hilda projects to work on now but I was really excited to share my AU and see what yall think of my garbage

See you next time!