For Pity

Call it Curiousity

The first thing Sigyn noticed stepping into the room was the faintest smell of burnt flesh which wafted around the space like a disease spreading between hosts. The second thing was a large scorch mark around the bed which her guest had previously occupied, and the third was her healer casually folding a blanket in one of the corners of the room, opposite to where her guest was currently huddled into in an almost protective stance.

Sigyn was frozen on the spot, staring directly at the fearful green eyes which were darting around the room, scanning for any sort of danger. As his eyes landed on the new arrivals into the room he jumped and scrambled to get even closer to the corner, perhaps trying to make himself seem invisible.

Whilst this entire situation was extremely distressing, in the sense that her guest was so afraid of other people that he had chosen to hide in a corner and possibly hurt himself, he did seem to have been healed quite well and no more bruises were noticeable upon his chest. Of course, without the bruises to distract from them, Sigyn could see scars littering his neck, chest and below the knees, where his 'trousers', or rags, ended.

Sigyn took a tentative step forwards, trying to make as little of a sudden movement as possible in order to not frighten the man.

"Hello my dear, are you alright?" He was still frozen, his chest heaving and his eyes wide and panicked, trying his hardest to fit in with the surroundings without actually disappearing. He seemed surprised and completely dumbfounded that Sigyn was actually talking to him.

"My lady, who are you talking to?" Amora asked quietly from behind her.

Sigyn turned to face Amora, who kept glancing in the general direction of the corner, but her eyes seemed to pass over the spot where the man was huddled in.

"Ah," Sigyn turned back to the man and crouched down, about 4 meters away from him, making sure that there was enough room between the two that he could escape if necessary, "If you could make yourself visible please?"

His tongue darted out quickly out, almost like a nervous tick, before shaking his head slowly.

"Love, no one in this palace wishes to cause you harm."

She could see him consider, his eyebrows scrunching together as if he seemed confused by the notion that he wasn't in immediate danger. He clenched his fists so that the knuckles turned white before closing his eyes and turning his head away. A green shimmer enveloped him, sweeping over the surface of his skin, before dimming and leaving the man in the same position he was in and looking no different than he did before.

Sigyn turned to Amora and her healer to see both of them with eyes staring directly at the man with looks of pure shock masked upon their face. Amora had her hand over her mouth and was trying to conceal her surprise however the healer seemed frozen in spot.

Sigyn looked back at the man and found him to still have his eyes closed, and his arms wrapped around himself in a protective nature. He was still trying to keep himself small as if the illusion was still being maintained, or to make himself a smaller target to hit.

Sigyn slowly extended her arm towards him, only just enough to make the gesture noticeable, and relaxedly opened the palm of her hand, as if trying to coax an animal out of a hiding place or a child from under covers after they have endured a nightmare.

He still wasn't looking.

"Love?" Her voice was sweet and smooth, soothing as he remembered his mothers voice being when she was trying to calm him after he got hurt. He looked up to see a woman kneeling away from him, not a guard, not Odin, but a woman, the one he had seen on the throne earlier, who had looked at him with pity rather than disgust. He briefly wondered if she knew who he was, and if not, how would she react when she found out.