Justice

[MidnaPhobia]

Justin looked away slightly as Maddy said he should have told her. She was maybe right, but she also probably didn't understand how the rest of the world saw people like him. "I've never actually told anyone about... that." He said in a soft voice, as if the topic were strange to speak about aloud. "Not to mention I had no idea how to tell you and I was... scared, of what you'd think of me if you found out what I was. I've seen people burnt at the stake in Nymh for less. Wei was the only one who ever knew, and that was because he was like me. He was the one who taught me about all this stuff, about what I was, what I could do, the worlds we visited.

Reaching up Justin pulled on his shirt so that it dropped down one shoulder; revealing a golden mark on his shoulder which, if looked at through the fingering he had taught Maddy, would glow with an unearthly light. "This is what marks me for what I am." He said finally. "It's called a Runemark. You have one too." He informed her casually, as if commenting on her hair colour. "That was why I asked if you'd ever heard of them before. Though I have to admit I didn't think to look until you mentioned all those strange things about being able to not be seen if you wanted to."

He cast her a glance, making sure he wasn't overloading her with too much information at once. "It's called Bjarkán, your rune. It means vision, relevation, dream; which is also why you're able to use that fingering I taught you so easily. That is the physical way to cast Bjarkán, other runes won't be so easy, you'll feel them slipping and trying to escape your grasp... at first..." He then trailed off himself with the realization that she would never learn any of this, he couldn't teach her in such a short amount of time and no way she'd want to stay with him when she had a family to go home to. "I'm sorry you're here. I had intended to leave before you realised and let that be the end of it. When you go home feel free to tell your people whatever you wish of me. I'm sure it is not something someone hasn't said about someone else at sometime or another. They're just words, they can't hurt me."

[Closetmonster]

She knew he spoke of himself and as he began to talk of what she should see, she did indeed put her circle to her eye and looked at him through it. He was there, as was a sigil on his chest, a halo of light around it. She gasped, but kept on watching him, listening to him. What else could she do?

At his mention of her mark, she shook her head. "I would know if I had a mark," she said calmly, but her heart thundered in her ears. "If I had this.. this.. banarkin, I would know. I would have seen it."

It was not a promise of anything but home that she heard, however, and she shook her head. She did not want to learn anything. Her strongest instinct was that she knew all she had to. She knew how to plant, she knew how to plow, to make candles, to feed herself, to care for her husband.

To go unseen.

She shook. "I won't say anything about you to them," she promised. "It doesn't matter how you did it. You saved us all." And now he would save her, as he promised. She'd learned already, in the short time she'd been near him, that his word was as good as a bond. He would not break it if there was breath left in his body.

[MidnaPhobia]

“Bjarkán.” Justin repeated absently, purely out of habit. “Maybe you just never noticed it.” He commented casually. “It would have been something you had from birth, maybe you thought it was a scar or a birthmark. You may have just thought it was something normal. Or maybe it’s in a place you can’t see, like on your back or something.” He stopped for a moment and drew a small symbol in the dirt, allowing her a moment to look at it before he wiped over the mark with his foot. It wasn’t good to leave Runemarks laying around all over the place.

“Trust me. It’s there, somewhere. If it weren’t then you wouldn’t have been able to do that. You wouldn’t be able to do the things you do. Your rune is your nature, it’s who you are. It’s as much a part of you as the blood that runs through your veins or the glam that clings to your soul. Mine for example, Yr; the Protector, the Fundament. Remember how I said I had this overwhelming desire to protect? It’s because of my rune, kind of... mostly. I’m sure that other things such as your personality and such come into it as well but what drives my core is Yr.”

He shrugged again. “I know that you probably don’t overly care about much of this. I’m sure you just want to go home.” He took in a big breath and exhaled loudly. “But I have to admit that it’s really nice to be able to talk to someone about this after so long...”

[Closetmonster]

"No," she mused softly. "No, I think I want to know. I mean, well, I do want to go home, yes. But I also... I also want to know." She could feel it, feel the desire, the curiosity to know. He spoke of things she hadn't known but she wanted to know what drove him first and foremost. Then he used words she didn't know the meanings and even spoke of her soul. How could she not want to know?

"So what does.. this... Bjarkán mean for me? I haven't any need to protect. I'm not that way, and if I did have it, why doesn't it glow like..." she was so very unsure and she swallowed hard. "Justin, why is this happening?" Her voice was soft, not frightened but lost for a moment. She shook her head soon after. "I mean, no one else in my family has this, so why do I? Why do you?"

[MidnaPhobia]

“Because Yr is the symbol of protection.” He said carefully, smiling slightly. “Bjarkán means vision, revelation and dream. You are driven by Bjarkán, your desires lay with sight and knowledge. It’s different. As for why it doesn’t glow... well that’s mainly because it only does that when you’re using your glam actively. You don’t see my shoulder glowing all the time do you?” He gave her another small smile and stopped for a moment as they reached a T junction. He held Bjarkán up to his eye again before finally deciding on which way to go. “Glam is... kind of like your magical essence, it’s what I’m following at the moment. It leaves a trail just like your scent for a hound to follow."

"Mine, at the moment is very low, hence why you can’t really see it. But I can see yours, it’s a very beautiful blue aura glowing all around you. Only through Bjarkán of course, but it’s there.” However he remained quiet for a long time before answering. “Runemarks are not genetic. They’re gifts from the Æsir... um... seer-folk. No one knows why people get them, or who will get them. At least no one Wei or I have ever met. And it’s not just people. Animals, any living thing can get one, but it is a ‘from birth’ thing. You can’t just ‘get’ one later in your life because you want it badly enough. As for why is this happening... that’s what I’m trying to find out.”

[Closetmonster]

She laughed, a little breathless, and clutched his hand harder. "Okay," she said and lapsed into silence. It was too much, so much information that she needed time to digest it all.

As he followed him, she closed her eyes and listened to his breathing, to their steps, and the echoes down the tunnel which seemed to surround them all through the darkness. She was careful to place her feet, wary of falling, but the floor had been worn fairly smooth and neither of them tripped. of course, he was probably using that... that symbol to see with. She, on the other hand, felt that to make it again was somehow to take in herself all he'd said, but she couldn't manage to begin.

Glam, her soul and a blue aura, Æsir, animals having runemarks, her own runemark. She could see it with her eyes closed, burned into her brain, the dim outline in the dust through the circle of her fingers. It was dark no matter, but that half picture he'd put into the sand then obliterated with his foot, was frightening to her in its sense of belonging.

She only held onto him and at the next pause, she finally felt she could ask something, needed to know something else. "So... Wei was someone with.. a runemark. And he knew you were one too. That's why he took care of you?"

[MidnaPhobia]

Justin nodded slightly at Maddy’s question, though he did avoid looking at her. “Yes.” He said finally, feeling almost ashamed by saying it aloud. “At least... that’s why he kept me. Of course there is no way to tell for sure but he theorised that I was left out there to die because of my Runemark. He had followed my glam, expecting to find another adult like himself. Whilst I’m sure if he had found a baby in the snow he would have tried to find a home for it but I doubt he would have tried to raise it himself.”

It was the first time he had really spoken about his mentor in such a way, revealing that there was a bit more than just adoration for the man who raised him. “But I-” He stopped suddenly, their steps had slowly begun to grow more and more louder, echoing as the tunnel had widened. Now they were in a fairly large cavern, the sound of rushing water echoing somewhere out in the darkness. Justin was tense, his arm out in front of Maddy protectively. “Lookout!” He shouted all of a sudden, jumping in front of the girl and his rune flaring up as something hit an apparent invisible wall in front of him.

“Get down.” He whispered softly. Justin quickly moved away from the girl, flinging out his palm. A light flashed from the boy’s palm, striking out into the darkness. There was a brief flash and another shadowy figure darted out of the way of the projectile. Justin could see the bright, violet glam all over the place, but it was still easy enough to find the source. The battle between the two went on for another few minutes, though the violet fighter had a clear advantage over the severely weakened Justin.

In the darkness there was a soft thud and a groan as he was pinned to the ground, the owner of the violet glam placing a foot firmly on his chest. Justin lay on the ground, panting. “So... you’re ‘the Captain’ the goblins told me about?” He said breathlessly.
The figure looming over him reached out his hand silently, a smile spreading over his face. “So, you’re the one who sealed them away down here. Well done.” Justin looked at the outstretched hand and slowly reached out, taking it as the man helped him to his feet.

[Closetmonster]

Maddy had crouched at Justin's first cry of alarm. She pulled back against the rock wall, hiding as best she knew, her fingers trembling and in the shape he'd told her, she watched in horror as the two men battled. She reached to her waist and drew the small dirk there, clutching it and trying to remain silent. Not that silence would work in the long run, but she knew nothing of the flares and through her circled fingers, everything was a color and lit. It was overwhelming.

By the time the other man had Justin on the ground, she had found a quiet space to hide, up against the wall in the large cavern beyond. She watched them and winced as the man put his foot on Justin's chest. Her heart beating in her chest, she crept as best she could to around behind them as they spoke. Then the man leaned down and stretched a hand out to Justin. Fear rushed through her as she, herself, rushed at them.

She tried to be quiet. The dirk was out and while she did not think she could very well put the blade into anyone, she needn't. She only had to pretend. Right? With her hand shaking, she pressed the tip in to where she hoped the man's mid back was, unsure if she pushed too hard or not, but wanting him to feel the tip.

"Hold," she growled and kept her fingers to her eye. "Let him go or.. or I'll slit you."

Gods, but her voice sounded puny even to her.

[MidnaPhobia]

The man instantly let go of Justin’s hand, groaning softly as he felt the tip of the blade pierce his back. Holding both hands up he stood still as Justin looked behind to see Maddy. “It’s alright little girl, I wasn't going to hurt him. You both just startled me, that’s all.”
“I could say the same to you.” Justin responded as he walked over to Maddy and gently placed his hand on her wrist and lowered it gently. “It’s alright Maddy. He’s um... a friend.” He said uncertainly, casting the man a cautious glance. “Kaen; Wildlife, Chaos. Not overly reassuring but it does explain some things. I’m Justin.”

The man shrugged slightly, smirking to himself. He held up his hand, casting that same light Justin had when they’d first entered the underground but much brighter. The light revealed the face of a man in his mid twenties. He had bright red hair and blazing green emerald eyes. His mark was displayed on the underside of his left arm, easily seen as he held up the light. “Loch (pronounced Lock). So tell me then, Justin, why have you come here to the World Below?”

“Because we wanted answers.” Justin replied firmly.

[Closetmonster]

Maddy stepped back as the man stood abruptly. He stood still and when Justin's face peered around the man, she watched him through the circle and kept silent. He would handle it all.

Or not. She frowned as they began to talk, as if this were, well, as if they were a pair of boys who had thrown rocks at one another. She pursed her lips, and followed Justin's gentle touch, putting her dirk back into her belt and eyeing them both through her finger circle. They had both a light about them, the man, his body wreathed in that same purple from the battle.

The girl kept close watch on the stranger and attempted to get nearer to Justin. Then, suddenly light flared. She gasped and dropped her hand from her eye. The light flooded her senses and she peered at him, the man called Loch, with wonder. She'd seen small things, knew that Justin had captured the goblins and forced them back underground and that this, this was...

"Yes," she said firmly, her eyes narrowing at the man. He looked as if he were about to laugh at them both and his expression made her mouth tighten into a small moue of disapproval that her mother would be proud of. "Why did you attack Harmshill? You sent your m- your goblins to attack us but we did nothing to you." She held herself back, really, for her mind flew over the next steps even as she spoke. Here was the one man who had ordered the attack and her family, her father, her husband...

She choked on her rage, but remained silently staring condemnation at the man who had wrought such changes in her life.