◤ ⋆ — ☠ Jotunheim ☠ — ⋆ ◢

rune niwat, 27, lookout. __________________________ “Be strong now, because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever."

[sighpeter-blog]

Lauren wandered around the camp, as she often did when she wasn’t on post, which was almost never. Ever since she’d arrived, been with the leader and he assigned her to the guard, she had barely had a moment to rest. She didn’t mind, though. It kept her busy, and from thinking about stuff she’d rather forget.

She noticed a girl sitting alone. Lauren didn’t know her name, but she was sure she’d been there about as long as she had. The woman was staring at some spot in the distance. Lauren followed her gaze, and found the graveyard. She’d deducted it belonged to the camp. It was a grim thing to look at. “I wouldn’t dwell on that sinister thing. The lake is much better for sightseeing,” she joked lightheartedly, hoping to cheer the girl up.

[northernrune]

Rune felt the woman’s presence near her in the same way that a sun rises over the horizon. The feeling of being watched grew slowly until Lauren spoke, and then Rune looked over at her curiously. She knew that the girl was joking, but she didn’t find it very funny. “The lake is just ice,” Rune commented. “It would not be much to look at, I think.”

She glanced back at the graveyard again and shook her head at herself. “Apologies,” she said. “You are right, I shouldn’t dwell on it.” There was something familiar about the stranger. She was sure that they had both arrived at Jotunheim at around the same time. “What’s your name?” she asked. She needed to become more familiar with everyone around camp. “I’m Rune, I have only been here for a few weeks.”

[madisontremblay-blog]

Being with the group wasn’t bad. She had food, water, warmth, and a bed. It was exactly what she wanted, in truth, but she grew bored here very quickly. People were nice to her. If you need anything, let me know, was a common courtesy around here, but where was the entertainment? Nobody she had run into so far had been interesting or out of the ordinary. Did everyone just sit around and mope or read or work? 

Madison took a seat across from a woman that was staring out the window, and she claimed defeat as she did the same. Her eyes were on a small graveyard some ways away and assumed the other’s was on it as well. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” she began, looking over at the stranger. “Being so close to those you’ve lost.” She simply assumed the woman was a long time resident here. “You’d think the graveyard would be further away.”

[northernrune]

Rune looked over at the woman who sat across from her. She didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t mean that she was brand new. Rune barely recognized anyone around Jotunheim yet, so it wasn’t saying much that this woman was a completely stranger to her. She was surprised by the woman’s words, the way she spoke so freely about loss. “I would not know,” Rune said. “None of those I knew.”

She nodded. She understood that trudging through the snow was a big effort, but she would have liked it if there wasn’t a crop of headstones in plain view from the cabins. It was depressing, and she didn’t even know any of the dead. “I wish they are farther away.” She looked over at Madison. “Did you know any of them?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t too sensitive of a question if she did.

[northernrune]

Rune Niwat ✘ Aesthetics ✘ Northern Nights

“you never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice."

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

A small but genuine smile graced her features as Rune spoke. It had to be difficult coming into a new group. It was a drastic change from living on the outside, and Rune just needed time to adjust. “Of course. And if you need anything, come find me.”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

It was good to hear that Rune was game for joining Arcadia in learning French. It’d be difficult, but at least she wouldn’t be doing it alone. “Sounds good, yeah. And I have no idea what you just said,” she added with a small laugh. 

[northernrune]

“I said ‘okay’,” Rune said. “I will have to find this Evelyn you mentioned and talk to her about it. Thank you for talking to me,” Rune added, a bit shyly. “It’s been quiet for me around here. But I think it would be good to make a couple of friends.”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

“I could at least learn a few saying or something,” she offered. Rune may very well become the only person at the camp to be the only fluent Thai speaker, but that just made it all the more important. Its rarity would make it a treasure that was in need of preservation. “You should! We could take it together. You would be able to meet new people and I wouldn’t have to be the only beginner there. It’s a win-win.”

[northernrune]

“That sounds good to me,” Rune said. Now that Arcadia was suggesting the classes, Rune thought it sounded like a good idea. It would help her talk to other people. She wouldn’t have signed up on her own, but if Arcadia gave her a push, she would go along for the ride. “Win-win,” she agreed. “I’ll do it with you, and teach you some Thai on the side. Xeā l̀a?”

[thingsforrp]

                                             ι never нealed                                                        ι נυsт ℓεαяηε∂ тσ cαяяү тнε вυя∂εη

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

She laughed. “Oh god, I told Evelyn I’d start going to her french classes, and now you’re going to teach me some Thai. I signed up for too much.” She was joking of course, but it would be a bit overwhelming at first, butt least she wouldn’t be bored anymore. 

[northernrune]

“Well I won’t bother you too much with it,” Rune said. “Speaking many languages used to be useful, but I doubt you will run into many Thai speakers here.” From what she’d seen to far everyone mostly spoke good English, so that tended to be the common language. “Even so, I would like to learn French. It sounds pretty. Maybe I will end up signing up for that class, too.”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

A laugh escaped her lips as she listened. “Yeah, very different. But I do miss it, even if it smelled bad. I’d give anything to dip my toes into the warm ocean, but I doubt I’ll even see the ocean again, much less have it be warm.” Her bright smiled dulled slightly, but it still remained. “Ko, Ko Sa- Ko Sami? Is that where you’re from? Did I say it right?”

[northernrune]

Rune nodded. “If we’re going to be seeing any oceans, they will definitely not be warm,” she agreed. At this rate, it would take ages for the oceans to even be tolerable to swim in. They’d all get hypothermia in a second just from dipping their toes. Hearing Arcadia attempt to pronounce her hometown, Rune laughed. “Ko Samui,” she repeated, her Thai accent very prominent in the words. “You were close enough. We can work on it. And you can teach me more American places other than Oregon.”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

“I hope we do.” Arcadia was often a person of optimism or hope, but when it came to the ice age ending, she wasn’t either. Ice ages didn’t last forever, but they did last lifetimes. It would be unlikely that the human race would survive this unless the future generations reverted back to their feral ways of the last ice age, or if a city was built somewhere that ran on solar energy or something like it. “I like the ocean too, but I always loved the forest more. It’s probably because the ocean didn’t smell all that great.” Pine smelled far better than fish; in the forest, there was no chance of her getting sand stuck in places she didn’t want it.

[northernrune]

Rune knew it was extremely unlikely that the Big Freeze would be over anytime in their lifetimes. She wasn’t stupid, after all, and she was very educated on the subject. But that didn’t stop her from hoping. Sometimes her longing for the way things were turned into actual hope rather than a dream. And then eventually she’d have to face the facts again. Oh well, she’d deal with that later. She laughed softly at Arcadia’s words. “Maybe for you. Ko Samui had beautiful beaches. I miss the smell of the salt. You could smell it all the way from the centre of town.” She smiled, very genuinely this time. “I have a feeling that the beaches in Oregon were very different from in Thailand. Different oceans, after all.” 

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

It had to be difficult to come into a group as large as theirs. Because everyone else was already settled into their new lifestyles, they had to feel like they were the odd man out even more. There was no one to talk to about how out of place they felt because no one else was in the same situation. When Arcadia first arrived, many others were new to the camp or came trickling in after her. She had people to relate to. “America is a lot like it is in the movies. I lived in a small town on the west coast, so it was pretty liberal. I only lived in one place, so I can’t give a good description of America as a whole, but where I was was nice. I lived between the ocean and the forest, so I could go to either whenever I wanted.” 

[northernrune]

Rune liked hearing about America. She wasn’t a big movie buff before the Big Freeze but she definitely watched some American films here and there. They were one of the biggest countries for producing movies after all, it would have been hard to escape some of the big blockbusters. “I like the ocean,” Rune commented. “The city I was born in was on an island, very close to the water. Stockholm was close to water, too. Water reminds me of home. Now it’s all ice.” Rune paused for a moment to picture the ocean waves in her mind. It felt like a distant memory now. She smiled at Arcadia. “Maybe someday we’ll get to see it again like the way it was before. Ice ages don’t last forever, after all.”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

The way that Rune repeated Arcadia’s word made her believe she didn’t know what it was, and it was supported by her background. She had never met anyone from an Asian country before, but she hadn’t met anyone from Norway either before her hiking trip. She was just meeting all sorts of people here. “That’s awesome. There’s a person here that might be interested in speaking with you. She teaches French and Spanish, so I’m just guessing she likes learning languages, but her name is Evelyn. She’s a small blonde, kind of puts off a vibe similar to that of a puppy. Just real excitable.” She recalled telling her that she was interested in learning French, and the woman behaved as if it was the best news she had heard in a while. “I’ve never been outside of the US before now. What was Thailand like?”

[northernrune]

Rune didn’t see why her history was ‘awesome’, but she was glad that Arcadia was being so kind. Most people had been unbelievably welcoming since her arrival, but Rune supposed that might have been just because everyone was so lonely being isolated here in the cold. “I will have to keep an eye out for her,” Rune said. “I have not talked to many people since I got here. You are among the first.” She doubted that she would find anyone else from Thailand or even close to Thailand while she was here, but she might run into some Swedes if she was lucky. It was pretty close by, after all. “Thailand was good, but there was not much for my family there. Sweden gave us more than Thailand did, but I still loved it. I was young when we left, so I don’t miss it too much. What’s America like? I’ve never been, myself.”

[liam-hart]

The figure standing on the watchtower did not answer him, but it was clear she’d noticed him in the way she began to descend the tower. Something Liam took as a good sign, sort of, because she could have just shot him on the spot. Still, he found himself backing up slightly before she reached the ground, wanting to keep some distance between them. Just in case. As far as he could tell he looked like the opposite of a threat, but a guy could never be too careful. Not that he blamed her for moving closer to get a better look. He knew all too well that his innocent appearance could be used for deceit. 

So he was ready for her questions, but those that he got were not what he expected. Liam’s brows tugged together and he tipped his head slightly to the side, eyeing her in confusion. It was clear that he’d been right, that there was some kind of camp set up here, but – did she not know whether he belonged or not? “Uh….no?” He answered, wondering what kind of set-up this was if their guard couldn’t even identify friends from strangers. “My name’s Liam. I heard there was a camp here…is that true?”

[northernrune]

Rune could tell right away by the boy’s reaction that she was right; he was a total stranger. Now it felt silly. He might have thought it strange that she wasn’t sure, but Rune had only been in the camp for a few weeks. Not that he would know that. She tugged her hat lower on her hat and wrapped her arms around her middle, feeling the bite of the cold more now that she was out in the open with him. “Yes, that’s true,” she said. She pointed behind her. “The base is just over the other side of the hill. I can take you there.” It would be best not to let him wander in on his own, and it wasn’t likely that she would miss anyone else passing by in her absence.

“My name is Rune,” she said. “I’m fairly new here, too. Let’s get you inside before we both freeze.” She tried to smile a bit, but it was hard when the air was numbing her cheeks. She starting walking in the direction of the main cabin, motioning for Liam to follow. “It isn’t far. How long have you been wandering by yourself?” she asked. It was a touchy subject to ask for some, but she was curious. If she upset him by it, she would apologize and not bring it up again. 

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

“You don’t have to be less depressing for my sake,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “I just didn’t mean to probably bring up bad memories. I shouldn’t have asked about the outside. That’s my bad.” The change in topic was welcomed. Talking about the distant past was always easier than the recent. “A small town in Oregon. I was on a hiking trip here with my mom for a vacation. So, uh, where are you from? Your accent is hard to place.” Not that she knew a lot of accents to begin with. Tillamook wasn’t really a melting pot of cultures; most accents she knew were from movies, and half of them weren’t even realistic.

[northernrune]

Rune shrugged one shoulder, not meeting Arcadia’s eyes. It was only natural to ask about the outside when you had been holed up inside for years. She also wondered what it was like elsewhere, if it was the same out in the rest of the world as it was in Norway. Probably. She couldn’t see why only one country would bear eternal winter. “Oregon,” she repeated. She didn’t know the name, but it was strange that she had been in Norway on vacation at the time of the Big Freeze as well. “I was born in Thailand,” she said, happy to talk about her home. “But I moved to Sweden later. My accent is a bit, um...” She searched for the word for a moment before she found it. “Confused, you could say. But I suppose it’s fun to say I’m fluent in three languages.” She smiled a bit.

[liam-hart]

One foot in front of the other. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat, repeat, repeat, because it was that or give up and freeze to death. A tempting option sometimes, if Liam was being honest with himself, but there was some instinct for survival rooted deep within him that kept him plodding along through the deep snow. One foot in front of the other. The lanky twenty-year-old was all skin and bones hidden under a layer of worn clothing that hung too loosely from his thin frame. His face gaunt, his eyes hard, but still he pressed onward. He was close, he had to be. That or the camp didn’t exist at all, in which case he would probably die. The only reason he was seeking it out in the first place was because he’d run out of options. He needed food, he needed someplace he could sit without going all Bucky Barnes and freezing over for decades to come. He hadn’t survived that hellish blizzard just to die out in the middle of tundra. 

It was hard to say how long he plodded along for before he finally saw it. A tower, looming out of the distance – and there was a person on top of it. He picked up his pace as much as he could, pushing himself toward it as quickly as possible. If the person standing guard was a bad guy, Liam wasn’t in a place where that really mattered. Without help, he was a popsicle. Once he was near enough to the tower, he pulled down the scarf wrapped around his face and shouted out to the figure. “Hello?” His voice was raw from the cold and disuse, but Liam paid that no mind as he lifted his hands above his head in a sign of surrender. “I, uh, come in peace, or whatever.” 

[northernrune]

Rune hadn’t gotten used to her job as lookout yet. It was bitterly cold, and a tad lonely up in the tower, but the silence had a strange comfort to it that she hadn’t expected. After being out in the wilderness alone, she thought it would have been torture to sit in silence during her shift, but she found herself actually enjoying it. It was a different type of silence than before. This time she knew she had somewhere to do when her shift was over, and that it would be warm inside when she finally returned.

She almost didn’t notice the silhouette against the white of the snow until he was right in front of her. She’d been stuck in thought until the figure was practically right below her. The person’s voice was lost in the distance between him and Rune. She had no idea what he wanted, but she knew that she had to go down and meet him. Beginning to descend the tower, it didn’t take long for Rune to get to the bottom. She wrapped her coat around herself tightly once she hit the bottom and trudged through the snow to stand in front of him. “You are not one of us, right?” she asked. It was kind of silly, but she was so new to the camp. It would have been embarrassing if she’d climbed down that tower for nothing. But she didn’t recognize the boy. “What’s your name?"

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

Swing and a miss. And a miss, and a miss. Arcadia just had to shut up and leave this poor girl alone. It had been so long since she had been on her own, and she had grown accustomed to happier stories and moods. She was the same way that Rune was when she arrived, Arcadia imagined, and she had pretty much forgotten that she didn’t talk about her life before much either. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even asked,” she replied, her eyes falling down the floor. “I’m not really used to talking to new people. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten one.” Well, Mason had come back recently, but he was used to be around people, and he had been with the group once before. “I’ll leave you alone forever now, if you want,” she half-joked, half-referenced. She doubted anyone here even remembered the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but it sure had some good one-liners.

[northernrune]

Rune had the habit of being a bit too sad around other people. Arcadia had been enjoying the conversation, and then Rune had to go mess it up by being dramatic. Well, maybe it wasn’t all that dramatic, but most people had probably learned to stop being so vocal about sadness now. She wouldn’t know. She’d been away from everyone except her family for years now. “It’s okay,” Rune said, feeling bad for making Arcadia uncomfortable. She didn’t really want her to leave. “I’ll try to be less depressing. You can stay, if you want to.” She tried to think of a topic that wasn’t so upsetting. “Where are you from?” she asked. “You sound American. How did you get to Norway?”

[arcadiaxfrost-blog]

“About two or three months after it, yeah.” Arcadia looked down at her hands then decided to get up and move to the chair opposite Rune. It would provide for better conversation and make her feel less awkward, but she’d also be in complete view of Rune. “I was a park ranger before all this. Survival skills are a major part of, well, surviving. Now sitting and glancing out the window herself, her gaze was on the headstones too. The little graveyard was a sacred place, but it wasn’t comforting, not like traditional sacred locations. “What about you? I’m sure you have some stories about life out there. I don’t really know what it’s like to be out there for more than a few days at a time.” The first two months were the worst months of her entire life, but she had it so much better than the new people coming in. There were still living plants and animals to cook and eat. Then it just seemed winter came early. It was only after she was at the camp for a while that she realized it was here to stay.

[northernrune]

A park ranger. That would explain part of it. Someone like Arcadia would have the means to understanding how to stay alive out there, while the closest Rune had never been to the wilderness was her own backyard in Sweden up until the trip to Norway. Arcadia was lucky, then. “I would hardly call them stories,” Rune said quietly, rubbing her hands together. Even talking about the cold made her fingers numb up. “It’s harsh. After a while you don’t feel the cold anymore, it’s just... painful. And you ignore it because you have to.” She looked down at her lap. “And it is lonely,” she finished.