Justice

[MidnaPhobia]

Justin stood there for a moment, watching Maddy. She seemed ready, he could tell she was in fact using the rune. Yet still when it came time to strike he hesitated. He supposed it was just the idea that he'd have to hit her, despite the fact if wouldn't hurt. After he'd spent so much time trying to prevent harm coming to her and how gentle she looked. Hesitating he eventually took in a small breath and then darted forwards, raising his hand, palm forwards and firmly pushing it against the girl's arm; figuring that would be the way to cause her the least harm should the rune fail her.

Yet, even as his hand made contact he felt the solidness of Yr, meaning none of Maddy would have even felt the touch. He settled back and smiled slightly. "That was good." He encouraged gently, relieved himself that he had caused her no harm. "The hardest thing about Yr, so I was told by Wei, is trusting it to protect you. Not faltering when you have something like a blade, an axe, or a cannonball careering towards you. I never had that problem personally but that's likely because it's my rune." Shrugging slightly he eventually sat down, trying to think.

"How did that feel for you though?" He asked as he sat on the ground. "The rune, you could feel it, I saw it in your eyes. But how did it feel? It's different for most people, and I'm always curious to see the different ways it receives different users. Also what did me hitting you feel like?" He knew that sensation, knew it well. But he wanted to make sure Maddy was getting the same feeling because that would assure him the rune was working as it should.

[Closetmonster]

Maddy flushed as she sat down in the grass and looked over at him. "It suits you," she said with a half smile, rubbing her arms in thought. "The rune, I mean. Yr."

But that hadn't been what he'd been saying and she took a breath before adding, "How it felt - I think it sounds funny. But it felt a lot like our old plough horse, to be honest. I kept imagining it as him. He wasn't a naughty thing and so long as you treated him right, he'd do as you said. But, when you pushed at me, it felt like I'd been surrounded, or, well, just at that spot. I could sense the heat of your hand but all I could feel was Yr. Even though you say it's not alive, really. It was like it was, not smart alive, but - well, alive anyhow. So I felt Yr instead of your hand? What happens when I hit you? It felt like I'd hit a rock and you jostled some. If you'd fallen, would it have protected your knees?" The idea of Yr protecting against something as frightening as a cannon ball.

"I'm not sure I couldn't not want to run away if something like a cannon ball was aimed at me instead of using just Yr. I'd be too frightened." She plucked at some grass at her knee and frowned slightly. "Have you ever had to use it for something like that?"

[MidnaPhobia]

Justin smiled at the question and thought about it. “I don’t know.” He acknowledged finally. “I mean... I usually just localise it to where the impact zone was. No need to use excess energy on a shield you won’t use. Yr can drain your energy very quickly if you use it all willy-nilly. And usually when you use Yr most is when you don’t feel as if you can overpower your opponent, so localising it to one area will help to keep your energy levels up. It’s kind of like a shield, so it wouldn’t have protected my knees, not unless I’d willed it to do so.”

“When I had been fighting Lock back in the World Below I had primarily been using Yr.” He shrugged casually. “Yr and Tyr, which is the warrior’s rune.” And with that he stood and smiled at her. “Anyway, so that was the warm up. Now we’re going to work on making you more proficient.” He offered her his hand to help her up. A controlled thing like that is all well and good but usually you have to use it in split seconds. Are you comfortable with a little scrimmage? Or did you want to practice the basics some more?”

[Closetmonster]

She reached for his hand and took it, feeling the warmth of calluses which she had only now begun to realize came from holding a sword and doing work other than pushing a plough. His life truly had been different from hers, had it not? She gazed at him in wonder. A different world, or worlds as the case may be, and a very different life - no doubt they were as alien to one another as a pig and a hawk. Yet he managed to reach down and lift her up to show her his world. To even wish to teach her of it.

With a sense of gratitude for all he'd done so far, she smiled at him. "Whatever you think is best," she said. He wouldn't hurt her and she had liked roughing about with her brothers. Then again, they hadn't done more than throw grass at her and try to trip her into hay stacks, but she was certain that Justin had enough control over whatever he would throw at her, that she wasn't about to end up with more than a few bumps and bruises at best.

"Split seconds," she murmured to herself and searched for the rune. She'd had time to find it the time before. She hoped she'd generally know to pull it up before something came at her. It didn't feel as if it were as obvious at her own seeing, this protection rune. When she turned, within herself, to where she'd had it before, she felt it was gone. A great plough horse dissipated into mist. She gave a small laugh and, with a ready nod, began to try and set the rune into her fingers, to find it in much the same way she'd found her own. And like that, it was there - near enough at least she was aware of it, though she wasn't all too sure how to prepare for anything split second.

[MidnaPhobia]

Justin nodded slightly. “I believe you’re ready.” He informed her as he moved into place and slipped off the warm but restrictive overcoat of Skyloft, leaving him with a simple off-white singlet, his golden mark blazing on his arm. The boy sighed in relief and rolled his shoulders. “Okay, what we’re going to do here is hand-to-glam- combat he informed her with a small chuckle, as if he found the whole title rather amusing. “I’m going to come at you with some punches, gentle ones mind you, but punches all the same, and you’re going to block them using Yr.”

The boy took a breath and rolled his shoulders slightly. “You will feel some push-back upon impact, but if you’re doing it right you shouldn’t feel any pain at all. If it does start to hurt, or you feel dizzy you tell me straight away and we’ll stop.” Raising his hands slightly he waited until he was certain that Maddy was ready for him before he came at her, slowly at first and just tapping lightly, with enough breaks in between that she’d have enough time to collect herself and reset. He continued at this level one for about five minutes, easing her into the activity before letting her have a rest and encouraging her to drink some water.

Once he felt himself recovering too he began a kind of level two, where he moved faster and more dynamically, less predictable but still with enough time in between that she cold reset herself. As they continued on his strikes became faster, harder, less predictable and more difficult to block. There were a number of times he’d get the jump on Maddy and he’d immediately stop to make sure she was alright, but she was actually surprising him with how fast she was picking up the activity.

[Closetmonster]

It was hard. Very hard. She was panting when he finally looked at her and nodded, as if he were somehow proud of her. For a girl, she figured, she wasn't so bad. Still, his complimentary nod did help her find more energy when she was sure she couldn't go on. The idea that anyone would want to... to hurt her or make her have to use Yr for protection was scary and she lost the rune every time she thought about why she might have to use it eventually.

Still, Justin was kind and she didn't really end up with more than a few bruised spots - and those not even all that heavily bruised. She paused them half way through to tie her hair back and out of her way. For a time, she worried he'd say something about having to cut it in order to keep it out of her eyes. But he didn't seem to take any note of it at all, other than to come at her again when she was ready.

Yr wasn't very difficult to use, really. So long as she remembered the way it was supposed to feel. Like having her horse with her, she needed only to direct it this or that way and it seemed to want to go. It was a tractable rune, even though he had told her that the runes weren't alive. It seemed to her that the hardest part was recalling this. She struggled between giving a light tug on the 'reigns' to position it and dealing with the fact that she was supposed to be in charge and seeing it as a tool, rather than a beast.

The mental effort soon became a drain and when he'd hit her three times in a row, she paused to breathe, only to find herself stumbling. She sat down hard and stared up at him, wide eyed and laughing. "Okay," she said with hands up in a common surrender symbol. "I think I ought to... ah.. have something else to drink?" She wasn't feeling dizzy as much as she was feeling - drained, like she might have after a long day at sewing. Though, it wasn't boredom that left her feeling that way, she was sure.

"Just a moment and I'll try again?" she hastened to reassure him. She didn't want to be a burden any more than he needed one.

[MidnaPhobia]

When Maddy stumbled Justin instantly stopped his onslaught, even before she held up her hands for a break. He moved to her side and steadied her, helping her to the ground. He moved to get her something else when she asked for a drink, and offered the girl a gentle smile. It may be a nice relief from the stern, concentrated look he’d been displaying the past few hours. He eventually offered her something that was not water, and had a very strong, sweet smell to it. “It’s the nectar from one of the plants up here.” He informed her as he encouraged her to drink.

“A bit on the sweet side, but it does give you a good boost of energy if you’re feeling drained.” However when she suggested she’d try again he shook his head firmly. “No more today.” Justin insisted as he sat beside her and slipped on his over shirt. “Your glam is staring to waver; I can see the fading colour. It’s not used to this kind of workout but, like everything else, with practice it will become more enduring. For now, you need to rest and let it replenish itself.” He sat there for a moment and eventually sighed, shaking his head.

“The thing I still can’t understand though... your Runemark... I still haven’t been able to find it. It has to be there... I’m sure of it. I mean... normal people can’t do what you’re doing, and your affinity for Bjarkán can’t be explained by anything else. But I still haven’t seen it. Are you sure you haven’t seen it? You know what it looks like, it should be on your body somewhere, I’m guessing it must be a place you hide with clothes a lot, a place I wouldn’t have seen on you yet...” At this he felt another slight blush and turned away slightly.

[Closetmonster]

She took the drink from him and made a face, because it was, as he'd said, very sweet. Still, it had an almost meal like tang to it and after accustoming herself to the clench of her jaw at the sugar, she managed to drink the whole of it down. She wiped her hand over her mouth and smiled at him. "Thank you," she stated. "What does that mean, again? Glam?" She could rest just fine, in fact just his saying it, made her relax and notice how tired she'd become. She chewed on her lower lip and listened to him try and figure out her rune. Until, suddenly, the topic had turned and she was as lost as he.

Maddy flushed at the implication as well. "Would it be... I mean.. Sight seems like something that wouldn't want to be seen, more than anything." She took a deep breath and looked down at herself. She wasn't apt to look at herself all that much and it wasn't like his runemark on his arm. She couldn't see it very easily. "Where is it usually?" she asked, then pulled up a pant leg to look down at her leg. "How big would it be? I'd be the only one to see it, wouldn't I?" She looked over one leg and then the other, then went over her arms, raising them over her head and looking under them as well. When nothing showed, she bit her lower lip and undid the bottom of her shirt. "Maybe it's on my back?" She peered down at her stomach but covered it quickly soon after, not wanting to show herself so readily. Justin was a gentleman and she didn't want to seem more crass than she already did. A plough girl, happy to take off her clothing just to find a rune seemed a silly chit after all.

"I.. umm.. I don't suppose I'd have seen it then," she finally said. "And no one in my family would have either, that is if they couldn't see it." That - or it was somewhere else, a hip or on her chest - both of which weren't places she was apt to look at often at all. Even married, she'd spent almost every moment of her life covered or too busy to look. It was merely a body - or it had been until now, when she was supposed to have seen some hidden rune on her skin. It hadn't been part of her living ways to spend any but the most cursory of times without covering.

[MidnaPhobia]

“Your Glam; simply put, is your energy. Everyone has it, you’ll be able to see it more if you’re looking for it. But for people like us it’s much easier to see. The stronger it is, the brighter it shines. For non-magical folks it’s there, of course because they have a life essence but it’s weak, usually only really visible through Bjarkán, and even then there’s no real point. But with you or I for example, it’s easier to see. Yours is a kind of butterfly blue, mine is a molten golden colour. It leaves a trail too, wherever you go, kind of like a scent trail, if you could see smells.”

Her sudden questions and attempts to look for her mark made him chuckle softly. “It can be anywhere on you there is no ‘usually’ for that, but they are usually about as big as your palm. I have to say I’ve never met someone with an invisible runemark, though it is a good theory, and may explain why it’s so hard to find. It’ll be there though; somewhere. And they’re visible to everyone, unfortunately, even non-magic folk. Which is why you need to be careful all the time. Some... do not respond too kindly to our kind, as you’ve seen.”

He seemed slightly annoyed by this. “But don’t worry; I’ll make sure you’re safe. Just follow my lead and we shouldn’t get ourselves into too much trouble.” He then gave her a goofy smirk. “Don’t let it bother you too much, it’ll be there. Next time there’s a mirror handy you can have a good look for it in privacy. It’s not important or anything, but it’s always nice to know where you have to be worried about people getting a glimpse at. Why do you think I always wear sleeves even when it’s hot out?”

[Closetmonster]

She considered that. So there could be a mark, a rather large blemish somewhere, which her mother had failed to speak to her about. No doubt, her mother would know of it. Maddy had no delusions about that. But if her mother knew and this wasn't the usual - why keep it a secret?

The answer, of course, was obvious. In the fearful world of witchery and magic, to have a child with a brand upon its skin was to lose that child the moment anyone else knew. Casting her mind back, Maddy stared at him and then began to unbutton her shirt. "She always... always told me to cover up. She told everyone," she babbled to herself as she focused on the buttons. "All of the kids, she told us all. But once, we were going to go swimming and she insisted we stay home."

She drew the shirt off of her shoulders. Underneath, she wore a plain linen chemise and she turned her back to him, laying her shirt upon the grass. "She... she threw a towel over me, she.. ran me into the house. It was evening," she stammered with the emotional import of having an innocent moment twisted by her mother's fear - a fear she didn't understand. Until now.

With a quick look about them, her back to him and her hair pulled over her shoulder, she drew the bottom of the chemise up around her shoulders and clutched the fore to her chest. Her back was bare - pale from lack of sun everywhere but at the collar and lightly muscled. At first glance, there was no mark to be seen. She took a deep breath. "I simply thought it was that she wanted us to be more like ladies and less like farmer's wives," she said to herself as she leaned forward to grasp her shirt. "Is it there?" Was she wrong? If so - then the sudden shock of what she'd unthinkingly done rose in her and fought war with her new self. Justin was a friend, a brother in a sort of way. She was lady enough for him and in something so very important, on the dawn of dangers she was sure she couldn't even imagine, he would be the last to judge her unfit simply out of her intense desire to know.

As she bent, suddenly there it was, peeking just over the high waistband of her pants, a tiny rim which would describe the uppermost angle of the rune. It was nestled, no doubt, in the small of her back and as she was unlikely to look at herself so closely, nor allow anyone else such liberties in broad daylight, it could easily have been missed.